Pak Spinners roll South Africa over for 220 in first Test

The Pakistan spin duo of Yasir Shah and Nauman Ali picked five wickets amongst them as they ripped through the South African batting order to bundle them out for 220 in the first innings of the opening Test at the National Stadium in Karachi.

At one point in time, the Proteas looked well poised to get a decent total with a set Dean Elgar batting beside experienced Faf du Plessis when the scorecard read 108-2 in 28 overs. But then things started changing from there on as du Plessis was removed by the veteran leggie Yasir Shah at 23.

Right after the du Plessis wicket, the Rainbow nation lost wickets at regular intervals with debutant Nouman and Yasir utilising the pressure situation to rattle the inexperienced batting lineup. Quinton de Kock, the South African skipper became 34-year-old Nauman’s first scalp.

All-rounder George Linde tried to fight a lone battle with his 63 ball 35, but that was not enough as fast bowlers wrapped up the proteas tail and finished the innings at 220. Apart from Yasir and Nouman, Hasan Ali, making his comeback in international cricket after a long injury hiatus, also picked up two wickets.

Batting in their first innings, Pakistan have lost both their openers in Abid Ali and Imran Butt. At the time of writing, they were 16-2 with their two most experienced and reliable batters i.e. skipper Babar Azam and Azhar Ali at the crease.

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