Sarfraz Ahmed and Faf du Plessis set unwanted ‘pair’ record in Centurion Test

The Centurion Test was a memorable affair for South Africa and a not-so-memorable match for Pakistan. On a tough pitch, the Proteas held their nerve and secured a tense five-wicket win on the third day of the match to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. However, there was one common factor in the match. Both Sarfraz Ahmed and Faf du Plessis endured torrid times as captain. Sarfraz was dismissed for 0 in both innings while Du Plessis also suffered the same fate. This resulted in an unwanted record for both individuals and it was a historic moment but for all the wrong reasons.

Sarfraz and Du Plessis became the first captains in history to be dismissed for a pair in the same Test match. In the first innings, Sarfraz edged a good length ball back onto the stumps bowled by Duanne Olivier to fall for a four-ball blob. In the second innings, Sarfraz chased a wide ball from Kagiso Rabada but he edged it du Plessis at slip who took a smart catch with one hand at slip.

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On the other hand, even du Plessis was not so lucky. The Proteas skipper departed first ball to Shaheen Afridi as he looked to flick a ball on leg stump to midwicket but instead got a leading edge to gully. In the second innings, du Plessis survived the King Pair but on the fifth ball he swung a short ball again from Afridi straight to Hasan Ali at long leg.  

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Sarfraz became the fourth Pakistan skipper to be dismissed for a pair in Tests. The first one to achieve this unwanted record was Imtiaz Ahmed against England in the Dhaka Test of 1962. Rashid Latif was the next to fall for a pair during the Port Elizabeth Test against South Africa while Waqar Younis suffered the fate against Australia in Sharjah in 2002.

Du Plessis is the third South Africa skipper to be dismissed for a pair, with the first one being Louis Tancred in 1912 against England at The Oval. The next South Africa captain to be dismissed for a pair came 104 years later and it was in Centurion, with AB de Villiers falling for a pair against England.