South Africa: 615 all out (Ryan Rickelton 259; Mohammad Abbas 3/94)
Pakistan: 194 all out (Babar Azam 58; Kagiso Rabada 3/55)
Pakistan: 213/1 (Shan Masood 102*; Marco Jansen 1/56)
Pakistan trail by 208 runs
NEWLANDS, CAPE TOWN - Pakistan captain, Shan Masood, and his predecessor, Babar Azam, led the visitors fightback with a 205-run partnership as the pair capitalised on the flat Newlands wicket in the last two sessions on day three of the second Test.
Having been forced to follow-on after being bowled out for 194 inside the first hour of the second session on day three, Pakistan openers, Masood and Azam returned to the crease with a lot of determination.
⚪️🟢 We conclude Day 3 with Pakistan on 213-1 after 49 overs and we hold a lead of 208 runs at the close of play.
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) January 5, 2025
Marco Jansen got the breakthrough removing Babar Azam for 81. A good start to Day 4 will be key tomorrow at 10:30.#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt #SAvPAK pic.twitter.com/FnAjQoYPpz
The Proteas bowling attack, along with the Newlands faithful, might have thought bowling out the visitors in one and a half sessions was on the cards, but boy were they in for a surprise from Azam and Masood.
The pair first looked after South Africa's new-ball pair, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, smashing 80 runs in the remainder of the second session, thus breaking the backbone of the attack in the process.
Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder and the debutant Kwena Maphaka did not make much of a difference either as they largely looked ineffective on the flat Newlands pitch as Azam and Masood teed off in the third session.
The pair reached 200-runs for the opening stand with Masood bringing up his sixth-career century off only 159 deliveries as South Africa continued to toil in the second innings.
The breakthrough came 15 minutes before stumps, with Jansen (1/56) inducing an outside edge off Azam's bat to David Bedingham at gully as the right-handed batter was dismissed 19 runs shy of his 10th Test ton.
While Bedingham was clinical in the field, claiming five catches in the match thus far, not the same could be said about the Proteas bowling attack in this match and to an extent, this whole home summer.
The bowlers bowled 13 no-balls in the first innings and 10 in the second, taking the no-balls tally to over 60 this home summer, a statistic that the quicks will need to rectify before they take on Australia in the World Test Championship final at Lord's in June.
Earlier in the day, South Africa needed six wickets to force the visitors to bat again having left them three wickets down for 64 runs at close on Day Two.
Though Kagiso Rabada (3/55) and Keshav Maharaj (2/14) registered prettier figures in those first innings, it was 18-year-old Maphaka who stole the show in the first innings on Day Three.
On debut, as the country's youngest-ever Test cricketer, Maphaka helped South Africa break a 98-run stand between Pakistan's premier batters, Azam and Rizwan in the first innings.
The teenager went on to return figures of 2/43 in the first innings, playing a pivotal role in South Africa's bowling of Pakistan out for 194.
South Africa will be looking to claim all the remaining wickets today register yet another series sweep as day four is set get underway at 10.30am at Newlands.