KG Rabada's batting heroics put Proteas in pole position

Defending a world championship title belt is often harder than having earned it. 

This is something the Proteas were acutely aware of when they saw their World Test Championship schedule for the next two years with three tours to the subcontinent included, starting with this on-going series in Pakistan. 

There were going to be moments where their skill and character would be put to the ultimate test, and how they stood up from the canvas would be a defining factor. It would require their most senior players to lead the way when the furnace heated up. 

Enter Kagiso Rabada. But not with the ball as is customary, but rather through his flaying willow which helped the Proteas turn this second Test on its head with the visitors now holding the aces with two days still remaining. 

Rabada, who had also played a memorable innings against Pakistan last year at Centurion to secure the Proteas’ place in the WTC Final, went one better with a career-best 71. Not only was it Rabada’s maiden Test half-century, but it was also the highest-ever score by a Proteas No 11.

It was an innings of the highest quality with Rabada presenting the full face of his bat throughout his 72-minute stay. The highlights reel will be punctuated with three glorious sixes, none better than the lofted straight drive that sailed over Shaheen Shah Afridi’s head. 

For good measure, Rabada followed it up with a Lara-esque cover drive that scorched through the Rawalpindi Stadium covers, which earned the highest praise from his fellow paceman Shaheen himself. 

It all formed part of a match-changing 98-run 10th wicket partnership with the obdurate Senuran Muthusamy, who also contributed a career-best 89 not out to lift the Proteas to 404 all out - an almost unbelievable 71-run lead after earlier slipping to 235/8. 

“KG was exemplary. It was an innings of the highest standard. I think the ball striking in those conditions was superb,” said Muthusamy. “He's such a naturally free-flowing batter. 

“That was an incredible innings from KG. Yeah, I ended up playing a bit of a supporting role as the innings went on because he was just seeing it so nicely and hitting it so clean.

“It was a fantastic partnership and, yeah, one that we'll remember and hopefully can put us into a really strong position tomorrow (Thursday) to win the game.”

The fact that the Proteas can now allow themselves to harbour such wild thoughts of levelling the series is also due to off-spinner Simon Harmer (3/26) and Rabada (1/22) backing up the batting heroics with another whirlwind hour with the new ball.

Whereas the surface had looked docile while Pakistan’s spinners were operating during the Rabada and Muthusamy partnership, Harmer suddenly managed to get the new ball to grip and turn and accounted for all three left-handers - Imam-ul-Haq, Shah Masood and Saud Shakeel - in the hosts’ top order.

With Rabada also chipping in with right-hander Abdullah Shafique’s wicket, Pakistan were reeling at 60/4 - still 11 runs adrift of the Proteas’ first innings total. 

They eventually passed it with Pakistan’s two most senior batters Babar Azam (49 not out) and Mohammed Rizwan (16 not out) keeping the visitors at bay until stumps were drawn at 94/4 - a lead of a mere 23 runs.

The Proteas will hope the pair don’t extend their 34-run partnership for too much longer on Thursday for they would ideally not like to chase anything more than a 150 on the wearing surface, although Muthusamy is confident the world champions can get the job done. 

“Yes, I think with natural progression, the way the pitch will wear a little bit and will get a little bit tougher to bat, but that's natural and we're looking forward to the challenge in the last innings of the game,” Muthusamy said.