Rain delayed the start of the third day’s play in the first cricket test between South Africa and Pakistan with no play possible before lunch.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola looked aghast at numerous points of his struggling team's 1-1 Boxing Day draw with Everton on Thursday, burying his face in his hands several times while watching their miserable run of poor results continue.

After Corbin Bosch’s impressive knock, Pakistan are closing on South Africa’s total in the first innings with seven wickets in hand. Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel are the overnight batters for the visiting team.

Opening batter Aiden Markram closed in on his eighth test century as South Africa reached 180-5 at lunch on the second day of the first test against Pakistan.

Follow live coverage of South Africa vs Pakistan from the Pakistan in South Africa 2024/2025 today. The ICC Test Championship sees nine teams compete across a two-year cycle of matches before a two-team final decides the winner.

Corbin Bosch's dream debut continued as he scored his maiden half-century off 46 balls and the highest score by a No.9 batter on debut in Tests as he built South Africa's 90-run first-innings lead. They were at risk of squandering the opportunity to take much of an advantage after collapsing from 178 for 4 to 213 for 8 but a 41-run stand between Bosch and Kagiso Rabada and a 47-run last-wicket partnership between Bosch and Dane Paterson got South Africa's noses in front.