Ryan Rickelton entered the history books with a brilliant double century in the first innings of the ongoing second Test match against Pakistan on Saturday. Opening the innings, Rickelton became the first South African cricketer to register a double hundred in World Test Championship history and also ended his team's wait for the double ton since 2017.
Hashim Amla scored the last double hundred for South Africa in Tests in January 2016. The former captains Dean Elgar and Faf du Plessis came very close to recording a double hundred but both fell on 199. Toni de Zorzi, who was replaced by Rickelton as an opener in the ongoing Test, scored 177 against Bangladesh in October last year.
Rickelton took just 266 balls to reach his double hundred, becoming South Africa's fourth-fastest to achieve this milestone. He also became the first South African player to hit a double hundred in Tests against Pakistan since Graeme Smith's famous 234 in Dubai in 2013.
Fastest Test 200s for South Africa
- 211 balls - Herschelle Gibbs vs PAK, Cape Town, 2003
- 238 balls - Graeme Smith vs BAN, Chittagong, 2008
- 251 balls - Gary Kirsten vs ZIM, Harare, 2001
- 266 balls - Ryan Rickelton vs PAK, Cape Town, 2025
- 267 balls - Jacques Kallis vs India, Centurion, 2010
The 27-year-old wicketkeeper batter scored his career-best score of 213* off 295 balls before lunch on Day 2 as South Africa posted 429 for 5. Mohammad Abbas removed David Bedingham early to give Pakistan some hope to trigger a collapse but the next batter Kyle Verreynne smashed an unbeaten 74 off 88 balls to keep the runs coming at a run rate of 4.01.
Verreynee and Rickelton added unbeaten 106 runs for the sixth wicket before lunch and are expected to play more aggressively to avoid a draw. Pakistan are trailing 0-1 in the two-match series after a heartbreaking two-wicket defeat in the Centurion Test.
