• The Proteas have been roundly disappointing in Asia, but plumbed new depths with their series loss against Pakistan.
• The loss was their first against Pakistan in 17 years and the first time Pakistan have won more than one Test in a series against South Africa.
• There were several disappointing aspects to SA’s third consecutive series loss in Asia.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Proteas are struggling in Asia, but how their individual components are failing to come together to become a combative collective is of the gravest concern.

There were plenty of disappointing aspects to SA’s 2-0 series defeat in Pakistan, their third consecutive series loss in Asia, but here are five that stand out:

Shamsi’s absence

George Linde and Keshav Maharaj bowled excellently but how different would things have been if Tabraiz Shamsi was fit? Having documented their arrival in Pakistan with a teenager’s keenness, he was penciled down to play in the first Test. A back spasm crocked him just before play and that was that. Maharaj and Linde provided tight lines and lengths, but none of the fizz that would have discomfited Pakistan from a wrist spin perspective. It would have been interesting to see how first Test centurion Fawad Alam would have coped with the ball turning away from him.

The spinners fitness issues

Shamsi aside, Linde bowled with a damaged finger while Maharaj had other ailments that plagued him. With spinners doing the bulk of the bowling, the last thing that’s needed is for them to pull up with niggling injuries. Fortunately, they were not long-term matters that affected the team setup, but certainly had an impact on how the fast bowlers were used.

Dropped catches

Pakistan’s two century-makers in Alam and Mohammad Rizwan were gifted lives. There were other dropped catches at junctures that were costly in the greater scheme of things. However, the removals of Alam and Rizwan early in their innings would have terminated the seeds of lower-order resistance before they even germinated. The eccentric duo participated in alliances that not only took Pakistan out of danger but changed the complexion of the matches.

Blasting out the tail

The numbers 257, 123 and 222 will haunt South Africa for a long time. These aren’t hotel room numbers, but the cumulative runs put together by Pakistan’s last five wickets when they were called up to bat. Tally these up against SA’s first innings totals in Karachi (220) and Rawalpindi (257) and the realisation of SA’s batting woes hit home. SA’s bowlers did their best to scythe inroads into Pakistan’s top order and most of the time they did. They just couldn’t break down Pakistan lower order and that ended up being the difference. Just for perspective, SA’s last five wickets managed 84, 58, 87 and 43 respectively.

Maharaj’s and the senior group’s batting failure

Maharaj cannot under any circumstances be held liable for SA’s batting flaws. However, his 0, 1, 0, 2 from his four Test innings summed up the sorry state of SA’s batting and the fragility of the tail. Up until the series, he’d added excellent value as a dogged, yet attacking number eight. While used once as a nightwatchman, Pakistan knew they had a walking wicket in him. His batting confidence was shredded, but significantly, he was let down by the senior batting group that was supposed to provide the runs he was going to defend with the ball.

To sum up Faf du Plessis’s, Dean Elgar’s and Quinton de Kock’s massively disappointing series that impacted SA, when SA won their last Test in Asia against Sri Lanka in 2014, the senior trio scored a combined 234 through Elgar’s 103 and 50s from Du Plessis (80) and De Kock (51). Across four innings in Pakistan in 2021, they added a measly 218 with only one 50 from Elgar.

Source: News24