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Pakistan crumble
Wisden CricInfo staff - December 24, 2002

Close 252 all out (Umar 135, Pollock 4-45, Ntini 4-62) and 184 for 5 (Umar 67, Inzamam 61) trail South Africa 620 for 7 dec by 184 runs
Scorecard

Taufeeq Umar completed a superb century in the morning and Yousuf Youhana made the second-fastest Test fifty ever – taking one more than Ian Botham's 26 balls to get there – in the evening session, but the day belonged to South Africa. An explosive burst from Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini in the second session ripped through Pakistan's batting, as six wickets fell for 12 runs and the innings folded up for 252. Pakistan reduced the deficit of 368 by half by the close of day's play, for the loss of five wickets.

South Africa struck early in the morning, with Pollock trapping Younis Khan leg before for 46 (152 for 2). Inzamam-ul-Haq (32) came in to bat and played a few aggressive strokes, but was out playing one shot too many, pulling Nantie Hayward straight to Boeta Dippenaar at square leg (208 for 3). Yousuf Youhana was caught behind off the next ball, and Pakistan were 208 for 4.

Umar and Faisal Iqbal added 32 runs, but the second new ball put an end to all hopes of resistance. Ntini, with the first delivery of the new ball, got the vital wicket of Umar, whose 135 was a fine show of counter-attacking defiance. Umar did not stretch out enough on the front foot to cover the angle of movement across him, and the thick edge off a jab was consumed by Jacques Kallis nicely diving full-stretch to his left at second slip (240 for 5).

Kamran Akmal then missed a straight ball from Pollock, and was caught plumb in front of the stumps (247 for 6). It was his second duck in a row.

Iqbal took the fight to Ntini, thumping him for two fours – a stand-and-deliver lofted straight-drive and a thumping cover-drive – but missed an ectravagant pull of the same bowler to be bowled for 24 (251 for 7).

Waqar Younis then edged Pollock to Kallis at second slip – this time a regulation catch (252 for 8) – giving Younis his 20th Test duck for Pakistan – a national record. Saqlain Mushtaq and Mohammad Zahid offered no resistance, and Pakistan was duly following on.

Saleem Elahi, clearly not a man to learn from mistakes, played an outrageous stroke to gift South Africa an early breakthrough in the second innings. He tried to hook Makhaya Ntini from wide outside off, and only managed to lob the ball up to midwicket, where Dippenaar held on comfortably (0 for 1).

Nine runs later, Younis Khan steered Jacques Kallis to Neil McKenzie at gully, with only 2 runs to his name. But just when the momentum of wickets – eight for 21 runs between innings – seemed to be gathering force, Umar and Inzamam dug in, adding 121 runs in 27 overs. They were both out in the 60s, after which Yousuf Youhana played an audacious innings, taking the attack to Nicky Boje in a manner in striking contrast to the way he played the faster bowlers.

He smashed Boje for 30 runs in seven deliveries, 24 of them coming in over, in a progression of 4,4,4,4,2,6. Boje was flighting the ball and mostly pitching on the stumps, Youhana stepping across and forward to the pitch of the ball and choosing his spot. The flow of runs – after another six off the first ball of his next over – stemmed when he started pitching it wider.

Youhana had seemed on course for breaking Botham's Test record for the fastest-ever fifty – off 26 balls – but got there one ball too late. He was out immediately afterwards, trying to hit Boje over the top without reaching the pitch of the ball and being caught by Kallis at mid-on (184 for 5).

With only five wickets left for South Africa to pick up, the match seems certain to end on the fourth day; once again, a day's gate reciepts lost for the South African board. Thank god for television.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd