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- The Proteas have been roundly disappointing in Asia, but they plumbed new depths with their series loss against Pakistan.
- The loss was the first against Pakistan in 17 years and the first time Pakistan has won more than one event in a series against South Africa.
- There were several disappointing aspects to SA’s third consecutive loss in Asia.
It should come as no surprise that Proteas they are fighting in Asia, but how their individual components fail to unite to become a militant collective is of the greatest concern.
There were many disappointing aspects to SA’s 2-0 series loss in Pakistan, their third consecutive loss in Asia, but here are five that stand out:
Shamsi’s absence
George Linde and Keshav Maharaj bowled excellently, but how different would things have been if Tabraiz Shamsi were fit? Having documented his arrival in Pakistan with the wit of a teenager, he was ready to play in the first test. A back spasm hit him just before playing and that was it. Maharaj and Linde provided narrow lines and lengths, but none of the bubbles that would have puzzled Pakistan from a wrist twist perspective. It would have been interesting to see how the first test centurion, Fawad Alam, would have faced the ball that was moving away from him.
The fitness problems of spinners
Putting Shamsi aside, Linde struck with a damaged finger while Maharaj had other ailments that plagued him. With the spinners doing most of the bowling, the last thing that is needed is for them to stop with pesky wounds. Fortunately, it wasn’t long-term issues that affected the setup of the team, but they certainly had an impact on how the fast launchers were used.
Dropped catches
Pakistan’s two centuries ago in Alam and Mohammad Rizwan were gifted lives. There were other catches dropped at junctures that were costly in the overall scheme of things. However, the elimination of Alam and Rizwan early in their entries would have wiped out the lower-order seeds of resistance before they even germinated. The eccentric duo participated in alliances that not only lifted Pakistan out of harm’s way but changed the complexion of the parties.
Exploding the tail
The numbers 257, 123 and 222 will haunt South Africa for a long time. These are not hotel room numbers, but the cumulative runs collected by Pakistan’s last five wickets when they were called to bat. Add them to SA’s first-inning totals in Karachi (220) and Rawalpindi (257) and an understanding of SA’s hitting woes hit home. Bowlers from SA did their best to make their way into the higher order of Pakistan and most of the time they did. They just couldn’t break Pakistan’s lower order and that ended up making the difference. Just in perspective, SA’s last five plots scored 84, 58, 87, and 43 respectively.
Maharaj and the senior group’s batting failure
Maharaj is not liable under any circumstances for SA’s batting defects. However, his 0, 1, 0, 2 of his four test innings summed up the sorry state of SA’s batting and the fragility of the tail. Until the series, he had added excellent value as a tenacious, but number eight attacker. While it was once used as a night watchman, Pakistan knew they had a wicket to walk through. His hitting confidence was shattered, but significantly, he was disappointed by the senior hitting group that was supposed to provide the runs he was going to defend with the ball.
To sum up the hugely disappointing series by Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar and Quinton de Kock that shocked SA, when SA won their last Test in Asia against Sri Lanka in 2014, the senior trio scored a combined 234 through the 103 by Elgar and the 50 by Du Plessis (80) and De Kock (51). In four innings in Pakistan in 2021, they totaled 218 wretches with just a 50 from Elgar.
