Sport Cricket

Proteas keen to show resilience after late batting collapse undoes Muthusamy's heroics

SA TOUR OF PAKISTAN

Zaahier Adams|Published

Tony de Zorzi and bowling hero Senuran Muthusamy will hope to inch the Proteas closer to Pakistan's total on Day 3 in the first Test at Lahore. Picture: AFP

Image: Picture: AFP

Two elements were vital for the Proteas to be in contention in this first Pakistan Test.

One of the spin trio selected had to step in and fill the void left by the injured Keshav Maharaj. And the other was the batters needed to find a way to counter Pakistan's potent spin threat. 

Towards the end of a second day in Lahore, the foundations were being laid to achieve those objectives with the Proteas moving to 174/2 in response to Pakistan’s 378 all out. The home team had lost their last four wickets for just 26 runs, largely due to Senuran Muthasamy’s 6/117 – the left-arm spinner’s maiden Test ‘Michelle’.

“I've got a few in first-class cricket, but that was my first fiver in Test cricket. It’s really special. It's something that's taken quite a while. It's a journey. It's been a long journey for me," he said.

“It's a different journey where I started off as an opening batter.  And then started bowling a lot more moving into middle order batter and still bowling a lot. 

“The conditions are as spin-friendly as I’ve played in. I was just focused on landing the ball in a consistent area. We were not as consistent as we wanted to be on the first day.

"But yeah, it was cool. It was really nice to add value to the team and to pick up those wickets and to open up the game."

Unfortunately for Muthusamy and the Proteas, it’s those batting skills honed early in his career that are now required after the World Test champions' second objective unravelled in the final hour.

The visitors matched Pakistan’s template and lost an identical four wickets for 26 to be grasping for air at 216/6 when the shadows lengthened and stumps were drawn.

It was indeed a gloomy period with each ball delivered by Pakistan spinners Noman Ali (4/85) and Sajid Khan (1/73) potentially bringing a wicket and when it did not there was usually a vociferous, unsettling appeal to create further discomfort. 

The ball was turning, bouncing and finding the outside edge or crashing into the pads. Both the on-field umpires Chris Brown and Rod Tucker were under intense scrutiny and more often than not needed the verification of the man in the box to verify their decisions with the added use of television replays. 

The main beneficiary of third umpire Sharfuddoula’s clarification was Tony de Zorzi. An uncertain start against the pace of Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi was followed by further torture against Noman and Sajid. 

If anything, Ryan Rickelton (71) was the more fluent during their 94-run partnership for the third wicket, but it was De Zorzi that battled away and counter-attacked when the opportunity arose, utilising his favoured slog sweep to dispatch Sajid for six over mid-wicket.

Crucially, he was also still there at the close – unbeaten on 81 – along with Muthusamy, which is crucial for the Proteas’ chances of edging closer to Pakistan’s first innings total.

“Yeah, of course, it's not ideal to have lost those wickets so close to the end of the play. But this does happen in Test cricket, you know. So, it's about bouncing back and finding some resilience again. I thought we did a lot of good,” Muthusamy said.

“We're still fighting, still batting.

"I think Ricks, the top order, and Tony have really batted really nicely there. We have to be resilient, strong defensively and show good intent. But yeah, it obviously wasn't ideal losing those wickets.”


First Test: Day 2 – Stumps

Pakistan: 378 all out (Salman 93, Rizwan 75, Muthusamy 6/117)

South Africa: 216/6 (De Zorzi 81*, Rickleton 71, Noman Ali 4/85)

South Africa trail by 162 runs