Babar Azam's rescue act and other takeaways from Boxing Day opener at Centurion

OLIVIER BREAKS PAKISTAN’S BACK AS STEYN CREATES HISTORY

When Pakistan’s batsmen took the field at Centurion, they would have identified South Africa’s pacers Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn as their biggest threat. They were not wrong with the Proteas’ new-ball duo removing both openers early as Steyn leapfrogged Shaun Pollock to become his country’s all-time leading wicket-taker in Test cricket.

However, it was the unheralded Duanne Olivier who proved to be Pakistan’s undoing on day one with the seamer picking up a career-best 6-37.

The 26-year-old was fortuitous in picking up the scalps of Shan Masood and Asad Shafiq in the first session but there was no luck involved in his dismissals of Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed, Azhar Ali and Mohammad Amir as he notched up his maiden five-for in Test cricket.

The seamer kept pitching the ball in the right zones throughout the day and the six dismissals was just reward for his persistence and consistency. To upstage the likes of Rabada and Steyn is no mean feat and Olivier deserves all the recognition he gets after his six-wicket blitz.

BABAR RESCUES PAKISTAN WITH COUNTER-ATTACKING SALVO

When Olivier picked up his fifth wicket, Pakistan had slumped to 96-7 and were in real danger of folding around the 100-run mark. That is when Babar Azam took matters into his own hands with the Pakistan batsman turning the tide with a counter-attacking half-century.

The 24-year-old looked extremely fluent while batting with the Pakistan tail as he took the attack to South Africa’s pacers. Dealing primarily in boundaries, Babar struck as many as 15 of them in his 79-ball stay at the crease which yielded 71 runs.

The right-hander forged a 67-run stand with Hasan Ali for the ninth wicket as he raced away to a brisk fifty on a difficult surface. His late assault on Steyn was a joy to watch for the neutrals with Babar smashing four boundaries in a single over to slightly blemish a record-breaking day for the veteran pacer.

By the time he fell for 71, Babar had ensured Pakistan reached a respectable total on a pitch which made batting look like hard work.

PACERS KEEP PAKISTAN IN THE HUNT

With just 181 runs on the board to play with, Pakistan’s bowlers had their work cut out in the final session of the day at Centurion.

Despite a brisk 69-run stand for the fifth wicket, the visitors kept themselves in contention with their bowlers chipping away with regular wickets.

It was Hasan Ali who provided the initial breakthrough with a terrific delivery to dismiss Aiden Markram before Mohammad Amir ensured Hashim Amla’s wretched 2018 continued unabated.

Pakistan teenager Shaheen Afridi then picked up two scalps in as many deliveries as the hosts lost three quick wickets on the score of 43 without the addition of a single run.

Theunis de Bruyn and Temba Bavuma then forged together a half-century stand in quick-time to put South Africa back in front but Amir struck late in the day to keep Pakistan’s hopes intact as he got the better of the former.

With the Proteas still trailing in the first innings by 54 runs, Sarfraz and his men will believe they still have a chance of a positive result in the Test.