Noman turns tables after Muthusamy’s magic

Spinner Noman Ali struck twice to keep Pakistan alive in the first Test as South Africa chase 277 in Lahore on Tuesday.

At stumps, South Africa were 51-2 with Ryan Rickelton and Tony de Zorzi on the crease at 29 and 16, respectively.

Chasing 277, Noman opened the bowling for the hosts alongside Hasan Ali. Noman got an immediate success when he bowled captain Aiden Markram (3).

And a couple of overs later, he got the batter of Wiaan Mulder, who went back to the hut without troubling the scorers.

Both Rickelton and de Zorzi were dropped off Noman’s bowling, as they survived the day without losing further wickets. They need another 226 runs to win with eight wickets in hand.

Earlier, Senuran Muthusamy gave South Africa a glimmer of hope as Pakistan were bowled out for 167 in their second innings, setting up a target of 277 to win the first Test in Lahore.

Left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy kept South Africa in contention with a superb spell of 5 for 57, as Pakistan were bundled out for 167 in their second innings on a sharply turning pitch.

Fellow spinner Simon Harmer also played a key role, claiming 4 for 51, as the visitors bowled in tandem to stifle Pakistan’s middle order.

For Pakistan, Babar Azam led the scoring with a resilient 42, while opener Abdullah Shafique made 41, but the rest of the batting lineup failed to convert starts into substantial runs.

Earlier, left-arm spinner Noman Ali finished with six wickets Tuesday as Pakistan dismissed South Africa for 269 in the first Test in Lahore after Tony de Zorzi’s gutsy century.

Noman returned figures of 6-112 for his ninth haul of five wickets or more in Tests as South Africa lost their last four wickets for 53 runs an hour before lunch, having resumed on 216-6.

Pakistan lead by 109 after they scored 378 in their first innings.

De Zorzi carried the fight to Pakistan on a turning Gaddafi Stadium pitch as he completed his second Test century with a six and two singles off Noman.

The left-hander finally holed out for 104 to long-on off Noman, where Shaheen Shah Afridi took a low catch, ending a 208-minute innings containing 10 fours and two sixes.

Noman, who bowled a probing 35 overs, also removed Prenelan Subrayen for four during the session.

Fellow spinner Sajid Khan took the first wicket of the day when he had Senuran Muthusamy caught by Salman Agha for 11.

He then wrapped up the innings when he bowled Kagiso Rabada for nought to finish with 3-98 off 33 overs.