It has been 14 years since the Proteas visited Pakistan to play Test cricket and here we look at the highest scores notched by South Africa batsmen in the country.
Pakistan sports conditions which are unique in that there is a little more assistance for the quick bowler than in other Asian countries but it hasn’t exactly been a place where South African batsmen have thrived.
Six highest Test scores by a South African batsman in Pakistan
In seven Test matches in Pakistan, Proteas batsmen have scored six centuries. Those tons have come from just three batsmen with Jacques Kallis scoring three of them in the 2007 series which South Africa won 1-0.
T5 Gary Kirsten – 100* in Faisalabad October 1997
Gary Kirsten carried his bat while all around him Proteas batsmen were losing their heads in the face of some excellent bowling from Pakistan legends Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed.
Kirsten shared a vital 124-run stand for the eighth wicket with Pat Symcox which helped South Africa to a respectable 239 all out after they had been reduced to 98 for 7.
After his first innings heroics, Kirsten failed in the second dig but South Africa would win the Test despite giving up lead to Pakistan as Shaun Pollock grabbed a five-fer in the hosts doomed chase. Pakistan needed just 146 to win but were bowled out for 92.
T5 Jacques Kallis – 100* in Karachi October 2007
Kallis scored centuries in both innings of the first Test on the 2007 tour of Pakistan and rightfully claimed the man of the match award.
His second ton was far from a formality as he appeared destined to be left stranded short of achieving a unique double when he started to run out of partners.
Kallis would find the support he needed in the unlikely form of Andre Nel, who made 33 in a 63-run stand for the seventh wicket and got him close to the milestone.
4 Jacques Kallis – 107* in Lahore October 2007
Kallis was on fire in the 2007 series and his third hundred of the series helped South Africa clinch a famous series win.
In a huge partnership with Graeme Smith, Kallis helped to bat Pakistan right out of the Test.
After facing initial criticism for their approach, the pair appeared to be vindicated as Pakistan reached 316 for 4 chasing 457 to win before running out of time.
3 Gary Kirsten – 118 in Faisalabad October 2003
Kirsten scored his two hundreds in Pakistan in Test matches that started on the same day six years apart.
By this time Kirsten had moved down the order to accommodate the exciting opening partnership between Smith and Herschelle Gibbs. He had scored 54 in the first innings sharing a 108-run stand with Gibbs.
His second innings knock of 118 put South Africa in a strong position, but they ultimately would be unable to get the win they needed to force a drawn series.
At the time the innings represented the highest score by a South African in Pakistan.
2 Graeme Smith – 133 in Lahore October 2007
Smith’s 407-minute epic knock in the second innings of the second Test against Pakistan in 2007 is among the best innings played by a Proteas batsman in Asia.
He was involved in a double-century third-wicket partnership with Kallis that drained the Pakistan bowlers and crucially kept them in the field for a long haul.
Attack would be his undoing as he skied a slog-sweep as he looked to get on with things and missed out on 150.
1 Jacques Kallis – 155 in Karachi October 2007
Kallis got in on a pretty flat deck in Karachi and did much more than simply occupy the crease on his way to 155.
He made the most of a solid platform laid by the opening pair and put the Proteas in a dominant position.
His efforts saw him pass 150 for the eighth time in his career but he felt that he had missed out on a chance to go on and make the double hundred he so craved.
Kallis was man of the match in both Tests on the 2007 tour helping South Africa to their first series win in Pakistan.
