South Africa beat Pakistan by eight wickets to level series

South Africa romped to an eight-wicket win over Pakistan on the fourth day of the second test in Rawalpindi on Thursday, claiming victory before lunch to level the two-match series.

The home side were dismissed cheaply in the opening hour, collapsing from 94-4 overnight to be all out for 138.

South Africa then took 12.3 overs to reach the 68-run target with captain Aiden Markram scoring 42 before being trapped leg before wicket by Noman Ali four runs from victory.

Tristan Stubbs was caught in the slips in the same over without scoring, leaving Ryan Rickelton (25 not out) and Tony de Zorzi, who did not face a ball, to complete the job.

It was an 11th win in 12 tests for South Africa with the only blemish their 93-run loss to Pakistan in last week’s first test in Lahore.

LOWER ORDER SLUMP

"There were moments where guys had to put their hands up and stand up for the team and they really did that and excelled in that. It took a lot of confidence and a lot of belief from wins, but when your character's tested and you managed to come out on the right side, I think that means quite a bit more," said Markram.

Simon Harmer took 6-50 as Pakistan collapsed with fellow spinner Keshav Maharaj adding two more wickets to the seven he took in the first innings.

Pakistan lost their last six wickets for 44 runs to continue their trend of lower order slumps despite starting the day with high hopes.

They needed a major contribution from star batsman Babar Azam, whose appearance at the stumps throughout the series saw a sudden spike in spectators and a noticeable increase in excited noise from the stands.

Babar, however, has not scored a century in his last 15 tests since 161 against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022.

He was on 49 overnight,