Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed and Shan Masood lifted their team off the canvas after taking a pounding in the morning session, before Duanne Olivier and Dale Steyn rolled through the Pakistan lower order.
Having been reduced to to 54-5 in the face of some hostile bowling from the Proteas’ pace quintet, skipper Sarfraz Ahmed and Shan Masood added 60 off 76 balls to lift Pakistan to 114 before Masood became the sixth wicket to fall.
Masood was well caught by Quinton de Kock diving in front of first slip off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada after a well played 44 off 71 balls (5×4, 1×6).
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Mohammad Amir joined his skipper and the pair took the score past 150, with Sarfraz going to his 17th Test half-century off 67 balls (8×4).
De Kock pouched a smart catch high to his right off Olivier to remove Sarfraz for 56 as the Pakistan skipper slashed at one too many balls outside off-stump. Sarfraz faced 81 balls (9×4) in an invaluable innings to keep his side in with a sniff in the series.
Yasir Shah didn’t look comfortable at the crease and neither did he last long, edging a rising ball around off-stump from Olivier through to Faf du Plessis at slip to leave Pakistan eight down with their score on 162.
Temba Bavuma almost pulled off the catch of the century off Dale Steyn, diving full length to his left to get a hand to a flashed drive from Mohammad Amir in mid-air, but he was unable to hold onto the catch.
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Five balls later Steyn earned his reward as Mohammad Abbas’ uncomfortable eight-ball stay was ended with an edge through to De Kock for his third catch of the innings, and Pakistan’s first duck of the innings.
The next over Amir slashed at a short ball from Olivier and was dropped by De Kock, the keeper running backwards and failing to hold onto the awkwardly spiralling catch for what would have been the bowler’s third consecutive Test five-for.
Steyn picked up the last wicket of the innings as Shaheen Shah Afridi edged behind to De Kock to take his fourth catch of the innings. It was also Steyn’s third wicket as the Pakistan innings ended on 177, with tea being called by the umpires.
Olivier picked up the best figures of the innings (4-48), while Steyn (3-48), Kagiso Rabada (2-35) and Vernon Philander (1-36) were all in on the action.
Photo: Shaun Roy/Gallo Images
