Pakistan slips to 155-6, still trails South Africa by 460 runs in 2nd test

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s youngest test cricketer Kwena Maphaka got the key wicket of Babar Azam as Pakistan slipped to 155-6 on the third day of the second and final test on Sunday.

The 18-year-old Maphaka celebrated his maiden test wicket in his debut test when the left-arm fast bowler had Babar caught down the leg side and left the visitors still trailing by 460 runs at lunch.

Pakistan is effectively seven down because Saim Ayub has been ruled out of competitive cricket due to a fractured right ankle for at least six weeks after the opening batter sustained the injury on the first day.

Aamer Jamal was unbeaten on five with tailender Khurram Shahzad yet to score at the interval as Pakistan still needed 261 runs to avoid the follow-on.

Babar and Mohammad Rizwan (46) had thwarted the pace of Kagiso Rabada (2-28) and Marco Jansen (1-36) in the first hour after Pakistan resumed on a precarious 64-3.

Pakistan's premier batters extended their fourth-wicket stand to 98 despite Rabada and Jansen beating Rizwan's outside edge.

Babar completed his second successive half century of the series with back-to-back boundaries against Rabada with the first one flying above the slips cordon before he fell for 58 off 127 balls with seven boundaries.

Once Maphaka got the crucial breakthrough, the tourists lost two more wickets in quick succession.

Rizwan attempted a poor shot against Wiaan Mulder and under-edged the left-arm fast bowler back onto his stumps. Keshav Maharaj further punished Pakistan at the stroke of the lunch interval when he deceived Salman Ali Agha (19) off a flighted delivery and had the batter stumped.

South Africa had posted a mammoth 615 in its first innings with Ryan Rickelton scoring a career-best 259 while captain Temba Bavuma (106) and Kyle Verreynne (100) also scored centuries.

South Africa sealed its place in June’s World Test Championship final against Australia after narrowly beating Pakistan by two wickets in the first test at Centurion.

Australia booked its place in the WTC final at Lord’s against South Africa after it clinched a six-wicket victory against India earlier on Sunday in the fifth and final test at Sydney. Australia also regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with the 3-1 series win against India for the first time in 10 years.

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South Africa celebrate the wicket of Pakistan's Babar Azam during the third day of the second Test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan plays a shot during the third day of the second Test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan runs after hitting the ball during the third day of the second Test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan is struck by the ball off the bowling of South Africa's Marco Jansen during the third day of the second Test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan smashes the ball for six runs during the third day of the second Test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

South Africa's Kyle Verreynne, left, stumps Pakistan's Salman Agha during the third day of the second Test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

South Africa's Kwena Maphaka, left, bowls the ball while Pakistan's Babar Azam looks on during the third day of the second Test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

South Africa's David Bedingham, left, and Kyle Verreynne, center, congratulate Kwena Maphaka, right, on his debut test wicket during the third day of the second Test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

South Africa's Kwena Maphaka celebrates his debut test wicket that of Pakistan's Babar Azam during the third day of the second Test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

Forecasters warned Southern California could see a “life-threatening, destructive” windstorm this week, as powerful gusts and dropped humidity levels raise the risk for wildfires in parched areas still recovering from a recent destructive blaze.

Gusts could reach 80 mph (129 kph) across much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties as winds intensify Tuesday into Wednesday, the National Weather Service said Monday. Isolated gusts could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills.

“Scattered downed trees and power outages are likely, in addition to rapid fire growth and extreme behavior with any fire starts,” the weather service office for Los Angeles said on X. “Areas not typically windy will be impacted.”

The weather service warned of downed trees, knocked over big rigs and motorhomes, dangerous conditions off the coasts of LA and Orange County, and potential delays at local airports. Public safety power shutoffs are being considered for nearly 300,000 customers across region, according to Southern California Edison's website.

Areas where gusts blowing across tinder-dry vegetation could create "extreme fire conditions” include the charred footprint of last month's wind-driven Franklin Fire, which damaged or destroyed 48 structures, mostly homes, in and around Malibu.

The blaze was one of nearly 8,000 wildfires that scorched more than 1 million acres (more than 404,600 hectares) in the Golden State last year.

Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there's been very little rain so far this season. Meanwhile, up north, there have been multiple drenching storms.

The “extreme precipitation disparity” between the northern and southern parts of the state is expected to persist throughout the winter, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California, Los Angeles and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

The Northern California weather systems “have been relatively warm storms, too, maintaining overall warmer than average temperatures across nearly all of California in recent weeks,” Swain wrote Saturday in an update on his website.

Southern California hasn't seen more than 0.1 inches (0.25 centimeters) of rain since early May. Much of the region has fallen into moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The upcoming winds will act as an “atmospheric blow dryer” for vegetation, bringing a long period of fire risk that could extend into the more populated lower hills and valleys, Swain said during a Monday livestream.

Portions of San Diego County have seen the driest start to the season — and driest nine-month period overall — in over 150 years, Swain wrote.

FILE - Flags fly under heavy winds before sunset as a plume of smoke from the Franklin Fire rises over the ocean Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes,File)