|
South Africa debutant Corbin Bosch continued to rewrite record books at Centurion with his memorable outing on Day 2 of the opening Test against Pakistan.
Bosch has been a one-man army for South Africa in his debut Test against an in-form Pakistan side. After making waves with the ball, he sent down jitters among the fans with a swashbuckling performance with the bat. Coming in at number nine in his debut inning, Bosch made batting appear to be a walk in the park. His shots were ferocious in nature, but his composure added a touch of elegance to them. Bosch brought thunder down on the ground with a rollicking 81* from 93 deliveries, laced with a whopping 15 fours while striking at 87.10. Bosch's 81* is the highest score by a batter, coming in at number nine on his Test debut. The previous record was held by Sri Lanka's Milan Rathnayake, who racked up 72 against England in Old Trafford earlier this year. Former India cricketer Balwinder Sandhu slipped to the number three spot with his 71-run knock against Pakistan in Hyderabad, in 1983. Bosch's onslaught towards the end powered South Africa to a 90-run lead over Pakistan, with South Africa concluding its innings on 301. Notably, on the opening day of the two-match series opener, Bosch became just the fifth South African bowler to take a wicket with the first ball of his Test career. He was introduced in the 15th over to break up Pakistan's dangerous-looking opening partnership between Saim Ayub and skipper Shan Masood. On his first Test delivery, Bosch pitched the ball up and caught Masood off-guard just after the drinks break. Masood's concentration seemed to have lapsed as he attempted a drive on a delivery he had previously left alone. With a loose shot, the Pakistan skipper offered a thick outside edge, which flew into Marco Jansen's hands at gully. With a wicket off the first ball of his Test career, Bosch joined an exclusive club that includes Bert Vogler (against England, Johannesburg, 1906), Dane Piedt (against Zimbabwe, Harare, 2014), Hardus Viljoen (against England, Johannesburg, 2016), and Tshepo Moreki (against New Zealand, Mount Maunganui, 2024). Notably, of the 25 instances of bowlers taking a wicket off the first ball of a career, three have occurred in 2024, the most in a calendar year. (ANI)
|
