South Africa 566 for 7 (Rickelton 259, Verreynne 100, Jansen 57*, Salman 3-129) vs Pakistan
Having taken command before lunch, South Africa ground Pakistan into the dust in the afternoon. Ryan Rickelton ended up with 259, falling just short of Stephen Fleming’s 262 as the highest score at Newlands. Kyle Verreynne brought up his fourth Test hundred. Marco Jansen, out of form all year in 2024, heralded the new year with a whirlwind half-century, six fours and three sixes helping him get there in 42 balls.
A total of 137 runs were added in the session, with South Africa having surged to 566 for 7, their highest score at home in four years. Pakistan gamely battled on, but their efforts never looked like bearing fruit on a wicket that had long since flattened, and batters that had long since settled. Much of the session became a milestone-marking exercise.
Verreynne continued with the belligerence that lit up the first session, a boundary off Abbas and a single off the next ball bringing up three figures. It brought Newlands to its feet once more; they may have sore legs from the frequency with which they had to do that.
Salman Ali Agha struck next over to prise him out as Verreynne went for a slog sweep, but it did little to stymie South Africa’s momentum. With no scoreboard pressure, Jansen let his natural talent speak for itself, swinging freely and timing it beautifully. He took 11 balls to get off the mark, but once he did, there was no stopping him. Two fours and a six off Khurram Shahzad in two successive overs helped bring up the 50 partnership with Rickelton in 46 balls, even as both Rickelton and Jansen helped themselves to sixes off Agha.
Pakistan finally saw the back of Rickelton before tea was called. Having slapped Hamza over his head for four, he top-edged the next ball to Abbas at long-on, who hung on to send him on his way, but not before he had nearly doubled his Test tally in one innings.