Rabada Hails South Africa’s ‘Young Team Willing to Do the Dirty Work’ After Historic Rawalpindi Win

Rawalpindi, October 23, 2025 — South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has hailed his side’s fighting spirit and growing maturity after their series-levelling win against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, calling it “one of the highlights” of his career.

The victory marked South Africa’s third Test win in four matches in Asia, a remarkable turnaround for a team that once struggled in subcontinental conditions. Before 2023, the Proteas had lost 10 of their previous 11 Tests in the region. However, back-to-back wins over Bangladesh last year and now a triumph over Pakistan suggest a team learning to thrive where they once faltered.

“This victory is definitely one of the highlights of my career,” Rabada said after the match. “Winning a Test match outside of Bangladesh in the subcontinent is pretty awesome. It gives the guys a lot of confidence. We’re a young team that wants to go out and do the dirty work.”

Rabada played a pivotal role in the Rawalpindi Test, scoring a career-best 71 off 61 balls — his maiden Test fifty — in a crucial 98-run tenth-wicket stand with Senuran Muthusamy. His aggressive batting shifted the momentum firmly in South Africa’s favour, deflating Pakistan’s bowlers and earning him a new bat from teammate David Bedingham as part of a playful locker-room bet.

“We have a thing where if I score 30 runs, he’ll give me a bat,” Rabada laughed. “He thought his money was safe after the way I batted in the first Test. So that was one way to get one up on him.”

Despite limited success with the ball, Rabada was instrumental in maintaining pressure and supporting South Africa’s spinners, who dominated throughout the series. He credited the spin trio of Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, and Senuran Muthusamy for their match-winning performances.

“Our spinners were world-class,” he said. “You saw the way they performed. That was a massive tick for us.”

Rabada also praised under-pressure batters Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, and Tony de Zorzi, each of whom contributed crucial innings in the series. De Zorzi was the only centurion of the series, while Stubbs’ first-innings 76 and Rickelton’s gritty knocks helped stabilise the batting order.

South Africa’s win in Rawalpindi means they have now avoided a series defeat since February 2024, when a second-string side lost 2–0 in New Zealand. The team has since won 10 of their last 12 Tests, a testament to their renewed consistency and depth across formats.

“You have to be doing a lot of things right to get results like that,” Rabada said. “This team believes in putting in the hard yards, and it’s starting to show.”