Harmer's six wickets led South Africa to an easy win to tie the series

Harmer's six wickets led South Africa to an easy win to tie the series

South Africa vs Pakistan: South Africa won the second Test match against Pakistan by eight wickets to level the series 1-1 on the fourth day of the match played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Pakistan’s hopes of a comeback were short-lived. South Africa needed just five balls on the final day to dismiss Babar Azam, who had looked in good touch. In just nine more runs, they took four wickets, making the result clear. Then, in one session, they chased down the small target of 68 runs with ease.

Simon Harmer was the star with the ball, taking six wickets and reaching a major milestone1,000 first-class wickets. He became only the fourth South African to achieve this.

This dominant win gave South Africa an eight-wicket victory and levelled the series. It was also their first win in this World Test Championship cycle. For Pakistan, it was their first home loss after winning the toss since they started using spin-friendly pitches.

Babar Azam reached his first home Test fifty since 2022 with a shot off the second ball of the day. But three balls later, he was out to a low-spinning delivery, and Pakistan’s collapse began.

Harmer kept the pressure on, but Pakistan also made things easier for him. He dismissed Rizwan with a clever delivery that took an inside edge and popped up to short leg his 999th first-class wicket.

His 1000th was a beauty. Bowling around the wicket to Noman Ali, he landed the ball perfectly in the rough. It bounced and turned sharply, catching the edge and flying to the keeper. Harmer celebrated with a loud roar.

Pakistan’s batting fell apart again. Shaheen Afridi and Salman Agha went for a risky run and paid the price with a direct hit. From 105 for 5, they crashed to 105 for 8 another lower-order collapse in a series full of them.

Agha tried to hang in but was bowled by Maharaj. Sajid Khan was run out soon after, and Pakistan were all out.

With such a small target, South Africa had no trouble. Aiden Markram hit a boundary to get going, and Ryan Rickelton followed with some aggressive shots. Pakistan tried all three of their finger spinners, but South Africa kept scoring freely.

Noman Ali picked up two late wickets when South Africa needed just a few runs Markram was out LBW, and Stubbs edged one behind. But Rickelton finished things off in style with a six over long-off.

After the last Test, Pakistan captain Shan Masood had spoken about how they’d try to stay competitive even if they lost the toss. But South Africa clearly had a better plan and they executed it perfectly over the four days.