Rawalpindi [Pakistan], October 23 : South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada hailed his team's hard-fought win in the subcontinent as a career highlight, saying the victory would boost the confidence of the young squad.
The Proteas side registered a comfortable victory over Pakistan by eight wickets on the last day of the second and final Test of the series, which was played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday. The series between the two sides ended at 1-1, with Keshav Maharaj being awarded the Player of the Match, and Senuram Muthusamy was given the Player of the Series award.
Speaking on his team's win at the pre-match press conference, Rabada said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo, "This victory is definitely one of the highlights in my career. Winning a Test match outside of Bangladesh in the subcontinent. I think that's pretty awesome. It definitely gives the guys a lot of confidence. Also, it's a pretty young team and a young team that wants to go out and do the dirty work."
Reflecting on Pakistan's defeat, head coach Azhar Mahmood said the turning point came during the first innings when the team lost five wickets for just 17 runs, missing a chance to post a commanding total.
"The first innings collapse was where it started. We lost 5 for 17. We should have posted 400-425 there, which was the position we'd put ourselves in. Agha and Rizwan were building a partnership which we couldn't utilise. This is the fourth time in two Tests that we've lost wickets lower down the order cheaply. This is not acceptable, and we need to take responsibility. We spoke about this at our two camps. Whenever your top players score 270-300, the contribution from the lower order really matters," Azhar Mahmood said at the post-match press conference.