De Kock and Steyn push South Africa towards 3-0 series win

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South Africa are closing in on a 3-0 series win against Pakistan after the third day of the Johannesburg Test thanks to a counter-punching hundred from Quinton de Kock that helped the home team set 381 runs to win. While South Africa will feel confident of claiming victory, some attractive shot-making at the end of the day from Asad Shafiq will have given the visitors a glimmer of hope.

South Africa started the day at 135/5, with Pakistan with hoping for early wickets to keep them in the hunt. By the time De Kock was dismissed South Africa had set a huge victory target and Pakistan needed their best batting display of the series so far.

When the third day got underway De Kock and Hashim Amla carried on their good work from the previous evening, moving the score on to 195 before a stand worth 102 runs was broken. Amla was undone by a ball from Hasan Ali that bounced more than he expected, and he edged behind to Sarfaraz Ahmed for 71.

De Kock has had a lean spell in Test cricket by his own high standards, the last time he reached a century in the format was two years ago when he made 101 against Sri Lanka in Cape Town in January 2017. He put that right with a fine innings that marshalled the tail. De Kock was on 59 when Amla departed, and he would need support from the lower order for South Africa to set imposing target, and to get himself to a Test hundred. He got just that from Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada who both hung around long enough to allow South Africa to reach 303 all out and for De Kock to make 129. Once De Kock was gone going for a second consecutive six off the bowling of Shadab Khan it wasn’t long before the South African innings drew to a close for 303.

Any time a team has to make the highest score of the match batting last it is always going to be a tough ask, but Pakistan got off to a fine start in pursuit of the victory target. A steady opening stand between Imam-ul-Haq and Shan Masood took Pakistan to 67, the highest partnership for the first wicket of the whole series for either side.

As has so often been the case for Pakistan in this series so far, even after a good stand a cluster of wickets has never been too far away. Both openers were gone within the space of seven runs with Masood (37) and Imam (35). Both men went to the bowling of Dale Steyn, those two wickets taking him level with Stuart Broad and Rangana Herath on the all-time wicket-takers list.

Azhar Ali was somewhat fortunate to survive when he had made 10. He played at a ball outside the off-stump from Rabada but was not given. Replays seem to suggest that he had edged to De Kock but South Africa decided against a review. He could not make the most of his good fortune, just 10 balls later he gloved the ball behind off Duanne Olivier for 15 to leave Pakistan 104/3.

Pakistan finished the day on 153/3 with a theoretical chance of winning this match. They require another 228 runs with seven wickets in hand on a pitch where there is some uneven bounce. Against this impressive South African pace attack that will be an extremely difficult task. Shafiq ended the day on 48 (47) balls, if he carries that on tomorrow he could lead his team to an improbable win.