Rickelton, Bavuma shine as Newlands delivers day for the ages

Rickelton, Bavuma Shine as Newlands Delivers Day for the Ages

From the first ball of the match, the crowd was arrested as Mohammad Abbas pinned Aiden Markram to the crease. Nitin Menon, regarded as one of the best umpires in the game, made the call, and despite a review, the decision stood.

Sayim Ayub, who scored two centuries in three innings in the recent ODI series, injured his ankle while fielding near the long-on boundary and had to leave the field in a buggy.

South Africa lost Markram, Wiaan Mulder, and Tristan Stubbs in the 45 deliveries before lunch, all to loose strokes.

Ryan Rickelton, in his 17th Test innings, scored his second century with a cover drive off Mohammad Abbas, taking him to 99, and then to 100 with a boundary off Salman Agha. His undefeated 176 was his most fluent century yet, his blade dazzling under the summer sun.

Temba Bavuma, who batted more slowly but also more solidly than Rickelton, reached his fourth century with a single to square leg off Aamer Jamal in the sixth over before stumps. He averages 57.78 after 15 innings at the helm.

Bavuma and Rickelton shared 235, South Africa's biggest fourth-wicket stand against Pakistan and the biggest of all for that wicket at Newlands.

The records that were broken have stood since Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers put on 179 in Abu Dhabi in November 2010, and since Wally Hammond and Les Ames added 197 in January 1938.

The real star of the show was the Newlands pitch, which was central to South Africa's success. After criticism for a poor pitch in a Test against India last year, Newlands took the debacle seriously and prepared a perfect pitch for this match.