Twitter Reactions: Pakistan pull things back after Markram’s 90

The third and final Test at the renowned Wanderers in Johannesburg is a dead rubber as South Africa are 2-0 ahead in the series against Pakistan. With the match having no importance, both teams made some changes. By the close of play on the first day, the visiting team won’t be disappointed as they bowled the Proteas out for 262 and are currently trailing by 245 runs with eight wickets left.

Aiden Markram dominates

The hosts lost stand-in skipper Dean Elgar perished to Mohammad Abbas after they won the toss and opted to bat. However, Aiden Markram and Hashim Amla put on 126 for the second wicket. Markram notched his fifty in 72 balls and eventually went on to rack up 90 runs from 124 deliveries with 16 boundaries. He fell prey to Faheem Ashraf and was unlucky to miss out on a much-deserved century.

Amla became Shadab Khan’s first victim after scoring 41 runs from 98 balls. Nevertheless, Theunis de Bruyn and debutant Zubayr Hamza put their heads down to ensure that the home team didn’t lose any more wickets in the second session. At Tea, the Proteas were 226 for three and were looking in a decent position. But Pakistan managed to hit back in the last session and bowled them out cheaply.

Pakistan stutter after good show with ball

In the post-tea session, South Africa lost seven wickets for a mere 36 runs. De Bruyn and Hamza scored 49 and 41 respectively. For Pakistan, Ashraf was their most successful bowler with three wickets even as the pace-trio of Mohammad Amir, Abbas and Hasan Ali accounted for a couple of wickets each. The visitors didn’t start their first innings on a good note by any means and lost two wickets in nine overs.

In the fourth over, Vernon Philander dismissed Shan Masood for two runs. He wasn’t given out initially, but DRS came to the Proteas’ rescue. In the very next ball, the speedster sent Azhar Ali packing for a golden duck. Opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq and night-watchman Abbas played out the remaining overs. The hosts would love some early wickets in the morning session of the second day’s play.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the day’s play

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