With two five–fors, Hassan Ali has sealed the deal for Pakistan, beating South Africa by 95 runs in second Test and won the series 2-0.
The first series as captain for Babar Azam in Test cricket starts with a win – credit to hundred from Muhammad Rizwan and 10 wicket haul by Hasan Ali made the difference in the Test match.
Babar has also been added to the list of Pakistani captains who won their debut Test series.
Read more – Babar Azam opens up on his journey from ‘ball-picker’ to Test captain
Pakistan won its first series against Proteas since 2003 by 2-0 with a 95-run victory in the second Test on the fifth and final day.
Set 370-run to win, the Proteas were bowled out for 274 with Pakistan medium pacer Hasan Ali taking 5-60 — his best match figures of 10-114.
Opener Aiden Markram scored a fighting 108 and Temba Bavuma 61.
They put on a 106-run stand for the fourth wicket but Hasan struck with the second new ball to end Markra’s resistance.
The 2-0 win is only Pakistan’s second over South Africa in 12 Test series, having lost eight and drawn three. Pakistan won the first Test by seven wickets in Karachi. Pakistan’s only previous series win over South Africa was in a two-match series at home in 2003.
The series against South Africa – who were touring Pakistan for the first time in 14 years – is the biggest hosted by the home side since a deadly 2009 militant attack on Sri Lanka’s squad in Lahore halted international tours.
With the brilliant 10-for, Hassan Ali became man of the match. While with his maiden Test match ton, Rizwan was declared man of the series.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan cricket team regained its place among top 5 Test teams of the world with a 2-0 series win against South Africa.
Pakistan earned 8 rating points after beating Proteas in Karachi and Rawalpindi to jump to 5th position in the ICC Test Team Rankings.
The hosts were at the 7th position in the charts before the start of series while South Africa was at 5th. With the help of star performers – Rizwan, Hassan, Faheem Ashraf and Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan has gained this position.
The two teams will now play three Twenty20 internationals on February 11, 13 and 14, all in Lahore.
Following Pakistan’s win several celebrities, politicians and congratulated the team for the effort.
