Stats highlights from Newlands, where South Africa posted their fourth-highest total in Tests
Shubh Agarwal04-Jan-2025615 – South Africa amassed their fourth-highest total at Newlands, Cape Town in the second Test against Pakistan, also their fourth 600-plus total at this venue. They fell only five runs short of 620 for 7d when they punished the Pakistan bowlers in the New Year Test in 2003. Their other two top scores are 627 for 7 against England in 2016 and 651 against Australia in 2009.259 – Ryan Rickelton was the nucleus around whom the hosts made the most of the batting-friendly conditions. Scoring his second Test ton, Rickelton broke a number of records during his 259 off 343 balls. He became the first South African batter to score a double-hundred since Hashim Amla’s 201, also in Cape Town, in 2016. Among openers, he is the first South African since Graeme Smith who scored a match-winning 234 against Pakistan in Dubai in 2013. His 259 is also the second-highest individual score at this venue, only behind Stephen Fleming’s 262 in 2006.235 – Rickelton added 235 runs for the fourth wicket with Temba Bavuma, who contributed 106 to South Africa’s mammoth total. It is the highest fourth-wicket stand for South Africa against Pakistan, surpassing the previous record set by Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers – 179 in Abu Dhabi 2010. Overall, it is the fourth-highest partnership for South Africa against Pakistan.Related
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3 – Kyle Verreynne was the third centurion of the innings, scoring 100 off 147 deliveries including five sixes. It has been a productive season for Verreynne. He had only one hundred in 18 Tests at the start of the season and now he has added three more to his tally in six Tests, with hundreds against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He has leveled Denis Lindsay (1966/67) and AB de Villiers (2012/13 and 2013/14) for the most Test hundreds by a South African wicketkeeper in a season.4 – Pakistan’s sorry bowling card had Mir Hamza, Khurram Shahzad, Aamer Jamal and Salman Agha going for more than 100 runs. Meanwhile, Mohammad Abbas finished with 3 for 94. This is the second time in three months that four or more Pakistan bowlers have conceded more than 100 runs in an innings. In the first Test against England in Multan, six Pakistan bowlers went for over a 100 runs as England eased to 823/7d.33.76 – Pakistan now average 33.76 with the ball in this World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, the worst among all teams. On the contrary, South Africa average the best at 23.23 runs per wicket. It is also a function of the kind of pitches these teams have played on – Pakistan mostly on flatter tracks at home and South Africa on spicy pitches. But adding to their woes, Pakistan also have a poor record in Cape Town. In the 21st century, they now average 43.3 in Cape Town, the poorest among all venues in South Africa.6 – On a positive note, Mohammad Rizwan took six catches in the innings, leveling Rashid Latif (against Zimbabwe in 1998) and Adnan Akmal (against New Zealand in 2011) for most catches for a Pakistani wicketkeeper in an innings. The record belongs to Wasim Bari with seven catches against New Zealand in 1979.
