South Africa: 316/4 (Ryan Rickelton 176*, Temba Bavuma 106; Salman Agha 2/55)
South Africa lead by 316 runs.
NEWLANDS, CAPE TOWN - Centuries from Ryan Rickelton (176*) and Temba Bavuma (106) saw South Africa complete a dominant batting performance against Pakistan on Day One of the second and final Test of the series at Newlands in Cape Town.
Even after the highs of the Boxing Day Test victory at SuperSport Park last week where South Africa secured a spot in the World Test Championship final for the first time, captain Bavuma was humble enough to highlight their shortcomings and where they needed to improve as a team.
⚪️🟢 And that's stumps on Day 1 of the New Years Test.
The Proteas are 316-4 at the close of play and will resume tomorrow at 10:30 with Ryan Rickelton (176*) and David Beddingham (4*).#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt #SAvPAK pic.twitter.com/RKZNo30gAr
One of those shortcomings, perhaps the most alarming of all, was the many batting collapses the team regularly endured right through the ongoing World Test Championship cycle.
Bavuma made it a point to emphasise that despite being the first finalists this cycle, they were by far a finished article, especially as a batting unit though having made significant progress with 10 Test centuries last year.
On the eve of the ongoing New Year’s Test, the 30-year-old said the team was laser-focused on polishing their skills, becoming ruthless as a team, and boy were they ruthless on Friday at the sold-out Newlands on Day One.
Leading from the front, with the stand-in Test opener in Rickelton by his side, Bavuma guided South Africa to 316/4 when stumps was called on the opening day of the second Test in Cape Town.
The pair combined for 235 runs, the highest fourth-wicket partnership at Newlands and against Pakistan, as they batted the visiting bowling attack to the ground with the Newlands faithful roaring behind them with the 'Temba-Temba' chants among others.
Rickelton, opening the batting for the first time in Tests, played with a straight bat for the majority of his innings, striking top-tier on-and-straight drives to cross the three-figure mark for the second time in his career.
With the unbeaten 176 off 232 deliveries, the left-handed batter also went past 500 career runs in the longest format and most importantly gave coach Shukri Conrad something to think about as a permanent contender for the opening spot in Tony de Zorzi's absence due to a left thigh strain.
Bavuma, having come in to bat following a 20/3 collapse late in the first session - a period which saw Aiden Markram (17), Wiaan Mulder (5) and Tristan Stubbs (0) lose their wickets in quick succession, steadied the ship as he had done many times in the past.
Right from the start of his innings, Bavuma exuded a reassuring energy into South Africa's innings, a calm that only a batter with a decade of experience in Test cricket can exude.
The 30-year-old mixed his approach expertly, striking the perfect balance between rotating the strike with singles and counter-attacking with sixes off the visiting spinners.
Eventually, about half an hour before stumps was called on Friday, Bavuma reached his fourth Test century and unleashed a worthy celebration for what was by far his best century.
Despite losing his wicket late on Day One, Bavuma’s 106 off 179 further established him as one of the leading batsman-captains in this decade in Test cricket with three centuries at an average of 57.78, second only to Kane Williamson who averages 61.81.
With over 300 runs on the board after Day One, South Africa is well ahead of the game. Rickelton (176) has an opportunity to reach a maiden Test double century while David Bedingham (4) has an opportunity to feast on what will still be a tired Pakistan bowling attack.