Proteas put Pakistan in record target chase
Bureau Report

LAHORE—South Africa set Pakistan a record total to win the second and final Test here after centuries from Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis on the fourth day.
Smith scored 133 for his first century in two years, while Kallis made 107 not out as the tourists declared their second innings on 305-4 to give Pakistan a mammoth target of 457 runs to win.
AB de Villiers was the other unbeaten batsman on eight when Smith declared the innings. The highest target achieved in a Test is 418-7 made by the West Indies against Australia at Antigua in 2003. South Africa won the first Test in Karachi by 160 runs.
The third-wicket stand between Smith and Kallis yielded 207 runs and put the tourists in complete command to win their first Test series against a major sub-continent team since 2000. Smith, on 75 overnight, became cautious after entering the 90s before he pushed part-time bowler Younis Khan for several runs in the last over before the interval to complete his century — his first in 17 Tests. Smith’s last Test hundred came against the West Indies at Antigua in May 2005.
Pakistan’s problems were compounded by the absence of frontline paceman Mohammad Asif, who aggravated an elbow injury on Wednesday. Scans revealed Asif has inflammation in his elbow and needs a week’s rest to recover, ruling out any chance of him bowling in this match. He bowled just four overs in South Africa’s second innings. Asif’s new-ball partner Umar Gul, who took one wicket, also had to return to the dressing room because of fatigue, leaving Pakistan with only two frontline bowlers in the hour before lunch. Captain Shoaib Malik dropped Kallis on 47 to further dash Pakistan’s chances of breaking through.
Malik was forced to bowl with leg-spinner Danish Kaneria and left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman after taking the second new-ball — something unseen in Pakistan cricket. Kaneria finally broke the stand when Smith miscued a sweep and was caught at point. Smith’s 296-ball knock had 17 boundaries.
The more sedate Kallis also completed 400 runs in two Tests, improving his own South African record for a short two-match series of 388 which he made against Zimbabwe six years ago.
The final day of the series, Inzamam-ul-Haq’s last in international cricket, is set up nicely. Pakistan need 349 for an unlikely victory - and, more realistically, need to bat out the day for a draw - while South Africa would fancy their chances of taking nine wickets on a wearing track.
The match was set up by a declaration by Graeme Smith with four sessions remaining, after his 207-run partnership with Jacques Kallis, that set Pakistan a mammoth 457 to win. Kallis, who has effectively been on the field for eight of the nine days of the series, became the second batsman, after Aravinda de Silva, to score three centuries in four innings.
South Africa started the day cautiously, looking to stretch the lead over 450, and went about their task in a serene manner. With Mohammad Asif missing from the attack owing to an elbow injury, Danish Kaneria and Abdur Rehman - backed by the legspin of Younis Khan - shared most of the bowling. South Africa added 57 in a slow morning session, and it was mostly dot balls and the odd single that formed the better part of proceedings throughout the day.
Kallis was patience personified against the spinners, who managed to extract turn and bounce in batsmen-friendly conditions. Beaten on a few occasions by Rehman - even managing an inside edge onto his thighs that Kamran Akmal failed to hold on to - Kallis looked solid in defence and frustrated Pakistan. With the ball getting softer, Shoaib Malik decided to take the new ball and, curiously, handed it to both the spinners. Pakistan had a chance to snare Kallis after he mis-hit one straight down the ground but Malik failed to hold on to the catch after covering a lot of ground.
Smith’s century, his first in over two years, was an innings of composure and patience. He survived a few leg-before shouts and was beaten on a few occasions by Kaneria’s spin but the majority of the innings was spent nudging the ball delicately past and around the close-in fielders. However, there was a phase when Smith got a little too bogged down in defence and did not register a single boundary for 106 deliveries. He was eventually dismissed trying to sweep Kaneria but his innings laid a solid foundation for his bowlers to work with. If South Africa go on to clinch the series, Smith would have played a vital hand.
South Africa began well with the ball. Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini hit a fuller length and troubled the openers before Ntini slanted one across to indice a fatal nick off Salman Butt. Younis Khan, as is his wont, started off in a positive fashion. —Agencies