South Africa earns 7th successive test win after beating Pakistan by 10 wickets at Newlands

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa earned a seventh successive win after beating Pakistan by 10 wickets on day four of the second test at Newlands on Monday and swept the series 2-0.

Pakistan, which was forced to follow on after 194 in the first innings, fought hard to avert an innings defeat with only 10 batters after Saim Ayub was injured on the first day. It was bowled out for 478 in the last session, leaving South Africa only 58 runs to win.

David Bedingham and Aiden Markram knocked off the runs in just 7.1 overs to wrap up the series after their narrow two-wicket win at Centurion, also inside four days.

“It’s satisfying, good old test cricket that we’re used to,” South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said. “There was something for the new-ball bowlers and then it flattened out … late on day four there was some spin and it’s what we were accustomed to growing up.”

Since beating the West Indies by 40 runs at Providence last August, South Africa has achieved 2-0 series wins against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan and qualified for its first World Test Championship final in June at Lord's.

Ryan Rickelton's 259 in South Africa’s decisive first innings total of 615 earned him the player of the match, but he didn't take the field on Monday because of a groin injury.

Pakistan’s long resistance on the flat, dry pitch was largely based on a determined century from captain Shan Masood, who batted for just over six hours before falling for 145 to 18-year-old debutant Kwena Maphaka after lunch.

“Maphaka is a guy who’s super confident and wants to be in the contest,” Bavuma said. “He never had his head down and always wanted to make a play for the team.”

Pakistan started the day on 213-1 and nightwatchman Khurram Shahzad frustrated South Africa in the morning before Marco Jansen had him caught at point on 18. Jansen came close to also dismissing Kamran Ghulam without scoring in the same over but Bedingham missed an easy catch at first slip.

Ghulam hit four boundaries in a 28 but was undone by Kagiso Rabada off a delivery that just came back enough to hit the off stump as the batter attempted a loose drive and missed the line of the ball.

The Proteas took the new ball after lunch and struck twice in the next two overs.

Rabada found the outside edge of Saud Shakeel on 23 and the left-hander was caught in the slips, then South Africa got the big wicket of Masood. A successful lbw referral showed Maphaka’s sharp delivery hit the Pakistan captain on the front pad.

Masood helped to narrow the deficit to 109 but Pakistan was five wickets down with only four wickets left.

Salman Ali Agha (48) and Mohammad Rizwan (41) survived close lbw reviews early in their innings before spinner Keshav Maharaj, who bowled long spells on Monday, dismissed both batters.

No. 9 batter Mir Hamza (16) smashed Rabada for a straight six before he was the last man out, top-edging the pacer, who finished with 3-115.

Maharaj (3-137) and Jansen (2-101) also helped as the South Africa bowlers had to grind out 122.1 overs.

Bedingham opened the batting for the Proteas in the absence of the injured Rickelton and hit an unbeaten 44 off 30 balls with four boundaries and two sixes.

“With (our) backs against the wall we did well,” Masood said. “We didn’t start off well and conceded too many runs initially, then we folded with the bat on a really nice surface. We need to learn how to land the first punch.”

Pakistan next plays against the West Indies in a two-test series starting in Multan on Jan. 17.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

South Africa's Aiden Markram in action during the fourth day of the second test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

South Africa's David Bedingham smashes the ball towards Pakistan's Shan Masood (c) during the fourth day of the second test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

South Africa's Kagiso Rabada, left, celebrates the wicket of Pakistan's Saud Shakeel during the fourth day of the second test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

South Africa's David Bedingham and South Africa's Kyle Verreynne appeal the wicket of Pakistan's Salman Agha during the fourth day of the second test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

South Africa celebrate the wicket of Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan during the fourth day of the second test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

South Africa's Kagiso Rabada, left, celebrates the wicket of Pakistan's Kamran Ghulam during the fourth day of the second test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

Pakistan's Khurram Shahzad plays a shot while South Africa's Kyle Verreynne looks on during the fourth day of the second test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

Pakistan's Shan Masood plays a shot while South Africa's Kyle Verreynne looks on during the fourth day of the second test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

South Africa's Temba Bavuma (c), left congratulates South Africa's Keshav Maharaj for the wicket of Pakistan's Aamir Jamal during the fourth day of the second test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

South Africa's Kyle Verreynne appeals for the wicket of Pakistan's Aamir Jamal during the fourth day of the second test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

South Africa players celebrate the wicket of Pakistan's Salman Agha during the fourth day of the second test match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters scrambled to corral a fast-moving wildfire in the Los Angeles hillsides dotted with celebrity homes as a potentially “life-threatening, destructive” windstorm hit Southern California on Tuesday, fanning the blaze seen for miles while traffic out of the area was jammed as residents tried to flee.

Forecasters warned the worst may be yet to come with the windstorm predicted to last for days, producing isolated gusts that could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills.

Already the winds were toppling trees, creating dangerous surf and bringing extreme wildfire risk to areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months.

Fire crews were battling a handful of small blazes in the Los Angeles area, including in the foothills of the Pacific Palisades area in western Los Angeles where residents were ordered to evacuate. The Palisades Fire swiftly consumed more than 200 acres (81 hectares) of dry brush and sent up a huge plume of smoke visible across the city. Residents in Venice Beach, some 6 miles (10 kilometers) away, reported seeing the flames.

Actor James Woods posted footage of flames burning through bushes and past palm trees on a hill near his Pacific Palisades home. The towering orange flames billowed among the landscaped yards between the large homes on the steep hillside.

“Standing in my driveway, getting ready to evacuate,” Woods said in the short video on X.

Actor Steve Guttenberg, who lives in the Pacific Palisades, urged people who abandon their cars to leave their keys behind so he can move their cars out of the way for firetrucks. He described fire burning in the neighborhood as people tried to evacuate.

“This is not a parking lot,” Guttenberg told KTLA. “I have friends up there and they can’t evacuate … I’m walking up there as far as I can moving cars.”

The erratic weather caused President Joe Biden to cancel plans to travel to inland Riverside County, California, where he was to announce the establishment of two new national monuments in the state. Biden will deliver his remarks in Los Angeles instead.

The National Weather Service said what could be the strongest Santa Anawindstorm in more than a decade began Tuesday across Los Angeles and Ventura counties and was forecast to peak in the early hours of Wednesday, when gusts could reach 80 mph (129 kph).

The weather service warned of possible downed power lines and knocked-over big rigs, trailers, and motorhomes. Strong offshore gusts will also bring dangerous conditions off the coasts of Orange and Los Angeles counties, including Catalina Island, and potential delays and turbulence could arise at local airports.

The Los Angeles Unified School District said it was temporarily relocating students from three campuses in the Pacific Palisades area due to the fire.

Utilities said they were considering preemptively cutting power starting Tuesday to about a half-million customers across eight counties. In recent years, California utilities have routinely de-energized electrical lines as a precaution against weather conditions that might damage equipment and spark a fire.

The 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, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California, Los Angeles and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

“We really haven't seen a season as dry as this one follow a season as wet as the previous one,” Swain said during a Monday livestream. “All of that extra abundant growth of grass and vegetation followed immediately by a wind event of this magnitude while it's still so incredibly dry," elevates the risk.

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.

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. Meanwhile, up north, there have been multiple drenching storms.

Areas where gusts 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 added up to scorch more than 1,560 square miles (more than 4,040 square kilometers) in the Golden State last year.

The last wind event of this magnitude occurred in November 2011, during which more than 400,000 customers lost power across LA County, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“The grid is built to withstand strong winds,” said Jeff Monford, a spokesperson for the utility. “The issue here is the possibility of debris becoming airborne and hitting wires ... or a tree coming down.”

Associated Press writer Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Smoke from a wildfire is seen from the Venice Beach section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A lone beachgoer walks along the coast as a large dark plume of smoke passes over the beach from a wildfire from Pacific Palisades, from Santa Monica, Calif. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Smoke from a wildfire is seen from the Venice Beach section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Firefighters battle the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A firefighter protects a structure from the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Firefighters protect structures from the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Smoke from a wildfire is seen from the Venice Beach section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A swimmer watches as a large dark plume of smoke passes over the beach from a wildfire from Pacific Palisades, in Santa Monica, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

People flee from the advancing Palisades Fire, by car and on foot, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Smoke from a wildfire is seen from the Venice Beach section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Smoke from a wildfire is seen from the Venice Beach section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A firefighter battles the advancing Palisades Fire around a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A firefighter battles the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A field catches fire under a tree during the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A firefighter battles the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A pair of firefighters try to protect themselves from flying embers from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Firefighters try to protect themselves from flying embers from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Firefighters stage in front of the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A firefighter battles the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles,Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

People wait with some belongings while fleeing the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A firefighter battles the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A person flees from an advancing wildfire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Smoke from a wildfire is seen from the Venice Beach section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A woman cries as the Palisades Fire advances in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A firefighter tries to extinguish a fire as it damages a property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Heavy smoke from a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades rises over the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

Smoke from a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades rises over the 405 freeway in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

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)

Tall palm trees sway during extreme gusty winds in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A tree blocks a street after falling amid strengthening winds Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Northeast Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Christopher Weber)

FILE - Marvin Meador walks on the remains of his fire-ravaged property after the Mountain Fire swept through, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)