South Africa stormed to a 10-wicket victory in the second Test to win the cricket series 2-0 despite Pakistan's late defeat in Cape Town.
South Africa cruised to a 2-0 cricket victory over Pakistan after a 10-wicket victory in the second match in Cape Town despite the visitors' resistance.
Chasing 421 behind in the first innings, Pakistan fought back to 478 all out. But South Africa, who qualified for the final of the World Test Championships last week, dropped the 58th wicket late on Monday.
David Bedingham hit 44 not out from 30 balls as South Africa sealed victory in just 7.1 overs on the fourth day of the match.
Bedingham opened in place of Ryan Rickelton, who suffered a hamstring problem in the field after scoring 259 in South Africa's first innings of 615.
Captain Shan Masood led Pakistan's innings, scoring 145.
Following this, Masood said that he believes that there are better days ahead for Pakistan as they have been alone for a long time in difficult conditions.
“There was a lot of good (on the list),” Masood said. “Knowing that we did well (in Pretoria) but we didn't close. Even now, we did not start well with the ball and batting.
“We conceded a lot of runs in the beginning, then we folded with the bat (in their first innings) in a very good position. But after that, we had a big win against South Africa in Test cricket. Individually, people got on board.”
Masood fell to the second new ball, which was first blocked by 18-year-old Kwena Maphaka.
His dismissal came three balls after Kagiso Rabada had Saud Shakeel caught at second slip on 23, completing a 51-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Pakistan, who batted shortly after Saim Ayub broke his knee while fielding on the first morning, were still 92 runs back after two wickets.
But Mohammad Rizwan (41) and Salman Agha (48) put on 88 for the sixth wicket and Aamer Jamal hit a quick 34 before the innings ended.
The South African bowlers did not get any help from the slow pace.
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who was expected to be instrumental in the fourth day's match, managed to get a bit of practice and worked hard for 45 overs to take three for 137.
Masood noted that his team allowed South Africa to score 615 runs in their first match, which meant that the visitors were chasing the game.
Not that it is a new thing, Pakistan have played well in groups recently and not well under pressure. Masood hopes to be consistent in their home series for the upcoming two Tests against the West Indies starting on January 17.
“We have to learn how to win the important moments,” Masood said. “We came back well against England (to win the series 2-1 in October). With our backs against the wall, we did well.
“But we have to learn how to be the first batsman. We have a lot of young cricketers who can learn, and luckily we go into another series with the West Indies.”
Meanwhile, South Africa will enter the World Cup final against Australia at Lord's Cricket Ground in London in June on the back of a seven-game winning streak – the second longest in their history.
