South Africa thrashed Pakistan by eight wickets on Thursday to tie the two-Test series, with off-spinner Simon Harmer taking a six-wicket haul in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan opened the series with a 93-run victory inside four days at Lahore last week, but Harmer (6-50) dismissed Pakistan for 138 on day four.
That set South Africa a target of 68 runs with the World Test Championship winners comfortably reaching 73-2 in 12.3 overs, with captain Aiden Markram (42) and Ryan Rickelton (25) leading the way.
Harmer and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj (2-34), who missed the first Test due to injury, took 17 wickets between them in the second Test.
“After the first Test, we were put under pressure, but the guys have put their hands up and excelled,” Markram said.
“Great space to be in as a team. The unit out here is one of the best. In South Africa, you’d think it’s just seamers, but we are very good with the spinners as well.”
Markram, who stood in the series as skipper in place of injured Temba Bavuma, was trapped lbw by Noman Ali (2-40) when his team needed only four runs for victory.
Tristan Stubbs, who scored a half-century in South Africa’s first innings of 404, was out for a duck when he edged Noman to slip, before Rickelton smashed Sajid Khan (0-15) for six to secure the win.
South Africa’s Simon Harmer took a six-wicket haul on day four of the second Test against Pakistan
“You have to give credit to the opposition, they have kept fighting,” Pakistan captain Shan Masood said.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t finish well in the first innings and the difference seeped into the third and fourth innings. We will have to look back at those chances that we missed out on.
“We are measuring against a team that has won this World Test Championship, so we can’t give them chances.”
Harmer became only the third South African bowler to reach the 1,000-wicket milestone in first-class cricket when he had Noman caught behind for a duck, with Pakistan’s second innings collapsing in just over an hour.
Babar Azam (50) and Mohammad Rizwan (18) helped lift Pakistan from 94-4, but both fell to Harmer inside off-spinner’s first three overs of the morning.
Pakistan’s Babar Azam celebrates after scoring fifty on day four of their second Test against South Africa
Babar, 49 overnight, completed his first half-century of the series with a single before he was trapped lbw. The former Test captain hasn’t scored a century since December 2022 in this format.
Salman Ali Agha hit 28 off 42 balls but chopped Maharaj back onto his stumps before the left-armer had Sajid (13) stumped to mop up Pakistan’s tail.
The two teams will now compete in a three-match T20 series, starting in Rawalpindi next Tuesday, followed by as many ODI games in Faisalabad from November 4-8.
