Pakistan’s batting collapsed on a tricky pitch as the Men in Green ended day three with a second innings score of 129 runs for the loss of six wickets and a lead of 200 runs.
The hosts will now be pinning their hopes on wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan, who remained unbeaten after scoring 28 runs off 56 deliveries, to bat alongside the tail in order to stretch the lead as much as possible on a rapidly deteriorating Rawalpindi pitch.
Coming in to bat with a first-innings lead of 71 runs, openers Imran Butt and Abid Ali took an ultra-cautious approach. Fast-bowler Kagiso Rabada however quickly worked over Butt with his pace and trapped the batsman in-front for an LBW off a ball that came in sharply, resulting in a duck for the struggling opener off 13 balls.
Veteran batsman Azhar Ali then joined Abid Ali and the duo preferred survival over a run-scoring approach in the face of a tricky wicket and disciplined South African bowling.
An ill-advised sweep by Abid Ali off-spinner Keshav Maharaj however proved to be his undoing as the ball grazed the openers gloves and was caught by wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock. Ali managed just 13 runs off 53 deliveries.
Babar Azam fell early after lunch after being adjudged LBW off the bowling of spinner Keshav Maharaj for the third time in the series. The Pakistan skipper could only manage eight runs off 17 deliveries.
George Linde then made his mark on the match by picking up the two important wickets of batsmen Azhar Ali and Fawad Alam. Both batsmen had spent a significant amount of time at the crease and seemed poised to take their side out of trouble but were removed by the all-rounder.
Azhar could only manage 33 runs while Fawad could only score 12 runs. Mohammad Rizwan and Faheem Ashraf then, sensing the pressure building up, decided to up the scoring rate and combined for a partnership of 52 runs off 86 deliveries.
Linde however stepped up for his side once more and forced Faheem to play an aggressive stroke that was caught by fielder Anrich Nortje, after the allrounder had managed 29 runs off 49 deliveries. Rizwan remains unbeaten and will start day four batting alongside tailender Hasan Ali.
George Linde was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa, picking up three crucial wickets while fellow spinner Keshav Maharaj took two wickets on day three. Kagiso Rabada only took a solitary wicket after his fiery spell of pace bowling.