South Africa seals place in World Test Championship final with a tense 2-wicket win against Pakistan
South Africa tailenders Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen hung in against relentless fast bowler Mohammad Abbas for a tense two-wicket win in the first test on Sunday to seal the Proteas' place in next year's World Test Championship final.
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Jansen (16 not out) overshadowed Abbas' brilliant figures of 6-54 with a square driven boundary against the fast bowler as South Africa reached 150-8 just after lunch on Day 4 and escaped with a close win in the opener of the two-match series.
«Quite an emotional moment for me, good advert for test cricket,» said South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, who made 40. «We haven't been ruthless but have found a way to ensure the result was on our side. Lot of joy and happiness on our side, a bit of a rollercoaster, glad that we were able to get the result.»
Abbas, making a comeback after more than three years in the test wilderness, had knocked back South Africa's tricky chase of 148 runs in a marathon 13-over spell before lunch on Day 4 as the home team limped to 99-8, losing four wickets for three runs.
However, Rabada changed gears in an unbroken 51-run stand with Jansen and made an unbeaten 31 off 26 balls with five fours to seal a memorable victory and denied Pakistan its first test win in South Africa in almost 18 years.
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