South Africa still in control after a fight back from Pakistani batsmen
South Africa managed to regain control of the second test after some resilience was witnessed from Pakistani batsmen. Pakistan started on a positive note with the intent to spend as much time as possible at the wicket. Pakistan were 59-1 on the second day
and had a lot of building to do to avoid a follow on. For Pakistan a lot of responsibility was on the shoulders of Azhar Ali and Taufeeq Umar. Azhar Ali has been a find of recent times as he has shown some excellent temperament for Test cricket. Not only
has he shown the technique required for a Test batsman, but he has also shown that he has the patience to perform at the top level. Both Taufeeq and Azhar started from their overnight score to take Pakistan’s total to a safe position. Taufeeq was steady in
his approach to spend much time at the crease. He was playing quite steadily until he went for a pull of a bouncer from Kallis and was caught at square leg by Amla. He scored 43 runs with 5 boundaries and had he stayed at the wicket a bit longer, he could
have made a big innings. Pakistan were 119-2 and were expecting a solid performance from their middle order. First test hero Younis khan was the next batsman and much was expected from him. The conditions for batting were ideal for him and he really had the
chance to make another hundred. Younis played a small innings of 14 before he played a shot that was caught beautifully by Amla at cover of the bowling of Steyn.
Azhar Ali was the batsman who played sensibly for Pakistan. He scored his 3rd fifty in the series and was looking good with every ball. Azhar showed a good defense against Morkel and Steyn, and also scored runs off them. He struck some lovely
boundaries on the off side. His approach showed that he is an ideal player for Test cricket. He was looking for his maiden century until Steyn dismissed him when he went for a drive that was caught at mid off by Smith. He scored 90 vital runs of 175 balls
with 12 fours. His innings showed the other batsmen the temperament required for batting in the middle. Pakistan had lost 2 quick wickets and there was an urgent need from the middle order to secure Pakistan’s position.
Misbah ul haq and Asad Shafiq provided http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 with a solid partnership. Asad Shafiq was making his debut in Test cricket and it could not have been a better platform for him to show his class than this one. Asad Shafiq was quick on his feet and like Azhar
Ali was showing good temperament as a batsman. He was quite comfortable of spin bowling and managed a number of fours off the bowling of Harris and Botha. He reached his fifty in 93 balls and became the 20th Pakistani batsman to score a fifty on
debut. An important 107 run partnership between Misbah and Asad Shafiq gave Pakistan some hope of matching the Proteas first innings total. Most importantly both the batsmen played 214 balls between them and provided the required stay at the wicket. Just
when Pakistan was about to have a good day's play, Asad Shafiq edged a delivery to Kallis at the slips of the bowling of Harris. Pakistan were 263-5 and again momentum had shifted to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757. Adnan Akmal provided a brief stay at the wicket before he was
dismissed by Harris for 17 runs. Pakistan were 309-6 and what could have been Pakistan’s day was moved into South Africa’s favor.
Misbah ul haq was patient in his approach and after spending some time at the crease he started to score with much freedom and managed number of boundaries of the bowlers. In his knock of 77* he struck 9 fours and 1 six off Harris at the last ball before
tea. His presence would be crucial for Pakistan if they are interested in avoiding the follow on. For South Africa, Steyn was pick of the bowlers as he bowled with a lot of fire and willingness. He took 3 wickets including the vital wickets of Azhar Ali and
Misbah ul haq. He bowled with a lot of discipline and troubled the batsmen. Harris also bowled an economical spell and managed 2 wickets at an important time when things started to look better for Pakistan.
Pakistan still needs 68 more runs to avoid the follow on, and they would have to bat with a lot of patience on the 4th day in order to avoid it.
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