CENTURION: South Africa tailenders Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen hung in against relentless fast bowler Mohammad Abbas for a tense two-wicket win in the first test on Sunday and sealed the Proteas’ place in next year’s World Test Championship final.
Jansen (16 not out) overshadowed Abbas’ brilliant figures of 6-54 with a square driven boundary against the fast bowler as South Africa reached 150-8 just after lunch on Day 4 and escaped with a close win in the two-match series.
Abbas, making a comeback after more than three years in the test wilderness, had knocked back South Africa’s tricky chase of 148 runs in a marathon 13-over spell before lunch on Day 4 as the home team limped to 99-8, losing four wickets for three runs.
However, Rabada changed gears in an unbroken 51-run stand with Jansen and made an unbeaten 31 off 26 balls with five fours to seal a memorable victory and denied Pakistan its first test win in South Africa in almost 18 years.
South Africa had started this WTC cycle with a loss against New Zealand, but since then the Proteas drew 1-1 in India and then went on to beat West Indies, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to stay on top of the table.
India, Australia and Sri Lanka are the other teams still in contention for next June’s WTC final against South Africa at Lord’s.
Captain Temba Bavuma (40) and Aiden Markram (37) had thwarted Abbas for an hour after South Africa resumed at a wobbly 27-3, still needing 121 for victory.
Bavuma’s controversial dismissal punctuated a South Africa collapse in the latter half of first session with Abbas grabbing three off his six balls in a sensational home team collapse.
Bavuma, who made 40, surprisingly didn’t request a television review when replays suggested that Abbas’ ball had brushed the batter’s pocket and didn’t make contact with the inside edge of the bat but the South African skipper walked back to the dressing room.
Abbas bowled an unchanged marathon spell of 13 overs, but had to wait as Markram and Bavuma saw off eight overs from the fast bowlers.
Resuming at 27-3, Bavuma and Markram showed plenty of patience against Abbas’ probing line and length before the fast bowler finally got the breakthrough after the first drinks break.
Abbas was rewarded for his brilliant seam bowling when he beat the outside edge of Markram’s bat and knocked back the off stump.
Bavuma survived a couple of close chances when he successfully overturned an on-field lbw decision against him early in the day and Naseem Shah couldn’t hold onto a sharp catch at fine leg as he overstepped the boundary cushion while grabbing the ball over his head.
South Africa had controlled the game at 96-4 before Bavuma’s dismissal saw Abbas finding the outside edges of David Bedingham (14) and Corbin Bosch’s (0) bat off successive deliveries and in between Kyle Verreynne dragged Naseem Shah’s delivery back onto his stumps.
Abbas found the outside edge of Rabada’s bat in his first over after lunch that fell just short of wicketkeeper Rizwan before both tailenders took the team home.
South Africa seal place in World Test Championship final with a tense 2-wicket win against Pakistan
https://arab.news/cfsuw
South Africa seal place in World Test Championship final with a tense 2-wicket win against Pakistan
- Needing 148 runs to win, South Africa crashed to 99 for eight owing to superb bowling by Mohammad Abbas
- But Kagiso Rabada went on the attack, hitting 31 not out, before Marco Jansen hit the winning 16 runs
Traders say Karachi plaza fire caused $54 million losses as search for bodies continues
- Authorities say at least 67 people died in January 17 blaze at Gul Plaza complex
- Recovery teams search unstable debris, Sindh government announces compensation
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: A deadly fire at a major shopping plaza in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi has caused estimated losses of up to Rs15 billion ($53.6 million), a traders representative said this week, as authorities continue rescue and recovery operations and struggle to identify dozens of victims killed in the blaze.
The fire broke out on Jan. 17 at Gul Plaza, a densely packed commercial building in the heart of Karachi and home to over 1,200 shops, trapping workers and shoppers inside and burning for more than 24 hours before being brought under control. At least 67 people have been confirmed dead, officials say, while recovery teams remain at the site amid fears of further structural collapse.
Tanveer Pasta, president of the Gul Plaza Market Association, said all shops in the plaza were destroyed, estimating total losses at up to Rs15 billion ($53.6 million).
“There were big importers sitting here,” he told Arab News on Thursday. “Just three days before this fire, 31 [shipping] containers were unloaded.”
Earlier this week, the Sindh government had announced compensation of Rs10 million ($35,720) for each person killed in the fire and said affected shopkeepers would also receive financial assistance.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said the city administration remained focused on rescue operations and on handing over victims’ remains to their families as quickly as possible. His remarks came after he visited the homes of several victims, according to a statement from his office.
“Rescue personnel of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation are still engaged in the rescue operation, while the administration is making every effort to hand over [remains] of the victims, loved ones to their families at the earliest,” Wahab was quoted as saying.
Identification has been significantly slowed by the condition of the bodies recovered from the site, Karachi Police Surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said.
Most remains were found in fragments, she said, complicating forensic identification and prolonging the process for families waiting for confirmation.
Relatives of more than a dozen missing persons have remained near the destroyed plaza and at hospitals even after providing DNA samples. Some families have criticized what they describe as the slow pace of recovery and identification.
Wahab said the provincial government had committed to supporting affected families and rehabilitating victims.
“The Sindh government would also not sit back until the victims are fully rehabilitated and that all possible support would be provided [to them],” he said.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the fire. Police have said preliminary indications point to a possible electrical short circuit, though officials stress conclusions will only be drawn after investigations are completed.
Deadly fires are a recurring problem in Karachi, a city of more than 20 million people, where overcrowded markets, aging infrastructure, illegal construction and weak enforcement of safety regulations frequently contribute to disasters. Officials say a blaze of this scale is rare.
