Rickelton’s 259, early strikes leave Pakistan with a mountain to climb

Rickelton's 259 propels South Africa to 615; Pakistan 64/3 at Stumps, trail by 551 runs

South Africa dominated Day 2 at Newlands, amassing 615 runs before picking up three top-order Pakistan wickets. Ryan Rickelton's maiden double ton (259) and Kyle Verreynne's century (100) were the highlights for the Proteas.

Rickelton and Verreynne built on their 196-run stand, scoring boundaries at will. Marco Jansen (62) and Keshav Maharaj (40) added quick runs, taking the hosts past 600. Maharaj fell in an unfortunate manner, while Jansen was dismissed against the run of play.

Pakistan had a disastrous start, losing skipper Shan Masood and Kamran Ghulam early. Saud Shakeel was dismissed for a duck as Rabada and Jansen delivered fiery spells. Babar Azam (31*) and Mohammad Rizwan (13*) steadied the ship, taking Pakistan to stumps with an unbeaten 44-run stand.

Earlier, Rickelton managed to blunt the new ball and brought up his 200. Verreynne survived a DRS appeal and scored a six to take the team past 350. In the second session, both batters plundered sixes, with Verreynne moving to his century before being dismissed.

Jansen, despite a slow start, scored quickly, bringing up his fifty off 42 balls. Rickelton was dismissed two overs before Tea, scoring 259 – the fourth-highest individual score by a South African in Tests.

Brief Scores:
South Africa 615 (Rickelton 259, Verreynne 100, Bavuma 106; Mohammad Abbas 3-94, Salman Ali Agha 3-148)
Pakistan 64/3 (Babar Azam 31*, Kamran Ghulam 12; Kagiso Rabada 2-9, Marco Jansen 1-14)
Pakistan trails by 551 runs.