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CENTURION, South Africa (AP): South Africa tailenders Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen hung in against relentless fast bowler Mohammad Abbas for a tense two-wicket win in the first Test yesterday to seal the Proteas’ place in next year’s World Test Championship (WTC) final. Jansen (16 not out) overshadowed Abbas’ brilliant figures of 6-54 with a square driven boundary against the fast bowler as South Africa reached 150-8 just after lunch on Day 4 and escaped with a close win in the opener of the two-match series. “Quite an emotional moment for me, good advert for test cricket,” said South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, who made 40. “We haven’t been ruthless but have found a way to ensure the result was on our side. Lot of joy and happiness on our side, a bit of a rollercoaster, glad that we were able to get the result.” Abbas, making a comeback after more than three years in the Test wilderness, had knocked back South Africa’s tricky chase of 148 runs in a marathon 13-over spell before lunch on Day 4 as the home team limped to 99-8, losing four wickets for three runs. However, Rabada changed gears in an unbroken 51-run stand with Jansen and made an unbeaten 31 off 26 balls with five fours to seal a memorable victory and denied Pakistan its first test win in South Africa in almost 18 years. South Africa had started this WTC cycle with a 1-1 drawn series against India before getting swept 2-0 in New Zealand. But since then the Proteas have beaten West Indies, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to stay on top of the table. “It (WTC final) is a big one, not just for myself but also the team and the coach,” Bavuma said. “The way we started our campaign, against India and then New Zealand with a not-so-strong team, and the way we have gone through with our performances, not many gave us a chance.” India, Australia and Sri Lanka are the other teams still in contention for next June’s WTC final against South Africa at Lord’s. Captain Temba Bavuma (40) and Aiden Markram (37) had thwarted Abbas for an hour after South Africa resumed at a wobbly 27-3, still needing 121 for victory. Bavuma’s controversial dismissal punctuated a South Africa collapse in the latter half of first session with Abbas grabbing three off his six balls in a sensational home team collapse. Bavuma, who made 40, surprisingly didn’t request a television review when replays suggested that Abbas’ ball had brushed the batter’s pocket and didn’t make contact with the inside edge of the bat but the South African skipper walked back to the dressing room. Abbas bowled an unchanged marathon spell of 13 overs, but had to wait as Markram and Bavuma saw off eight overs from the fast bowlers. Resuming at 27-3, Bavuma and Markram showed plenty of patience against Abbas’ probing line and length before the fast bowler finally got the breakthrough after the first drinks break. Abbas was rewarded for his brilliant seam bowling when he beat the outside edge of Markram’s bat and knocked back the off stump. Bavuma survived a couple of close chances when he successfully overturned an on-field lbw decision against him early in the day and Naseem Shah couldn’t hold onto a sharp catch at fine leg as he overstepped the boundary cushion while grabbing the ball over his head. South Africa had controlled the game at 96-4 before Bavuma’s dismissal saw Abbas finding the outside edges of David Bedingham (14) and Corbin Bosch’s (0) bat off successive deliveries and in between Kyle Verreynne dragged Naseem Shah’s delivery back onto his stumps. Abbas found the outside edge of Rabada’s bat in his first over after lunch that fell just short of wicketkeeper Rizwan before both tailenders took the team home. “Extremely proud of the efforts, but going forward we need to be ruthless,” Pakistan captain Shan Masood said. “We keep making the same mistakes but we have to get over the line, seize moments.” The second Test begins at Cape Town on Friday.A federal judge appointed by President-elect Donald Trump during his first term overturned an Alabama mayor's decision to pull an LGBTQ+ pride float from his city's Christmas parade Friday. U.S. District Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr.'s decision required the City of Prattville to allow the local LGBTQ+ Pride group to participate in the annual event that same night. Mayor Bill Gillespie had pulled the float on Thursday following safety concerns raised by Prattville Pride, but the group argued this went against their First and Fourth Amendment rights, as no action had been taken to investigate potential threats to their safety. "The decision to remove Prattville Pride from the 'Christmas in Prattville Christmas Parade' is nothing more than the City of Prattville and Mayor Gillespie bowing to the pressure from extremists and hecklers in the community who oppose the views of Prattville Pride," the group's injunction read. According to the Judge's ruling Friday, seen by Newsweek , the group had simply asked the city council for additional security following "harmful actions to be taken" against them and their float should it appear in Friday's procession, including "possibly slashing the float's tires so that it could not roll down the three mile stretch of the parade route." The city said these online comments were enough of a threat to prevent the group from participating, but the judge said the city provided no evidence that any of these threats could be carried out. During a phone hearing Friday, the city admitted that it could easily provide two additional police officers to walk alongside the Prattville Pride float, which appeared to irk the judge. "The Court struggles with how the City's decision to remove a law abiding parade participant could ever survive any level of scrutiny when the more easily tailored, and reasonable, response is to simply implement additional security measures, such as two or more law enforcement officers who can walk with the float on the parade route and make an arrest if an egg, water, or rock is thrown," he wrote in his decision. Ahead of the parade stepping off, Prattville Pride posted on Facebook that the ruling was "a powerful affirmation of the importance of visibility, representation, and inclusion for all members of our community." Not everyone supported the move, however. Some conservatives on social media said the float's inclusion was inappropriate. "Gender ideology has no place in public events. Especially ones paid for by the taxpayer," Paul A. Syzpula, a conservative poster, said on X, formerly Twitter . "Shame on Judge Huffaker, Jr." The Conservative Alternative argued that the case should be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on the grounds that freedom of religion was an important civil liberty. "This is a public parade, put on by the city," X user @PkmnTrainerSeth replied. "By the standards of the Constitution, they *have* to let them participate, provided they're not breaking any laws." Despite the protests, the parade went ahead Friday night, including the rainbow-decked pride float, seemingly without incident. "A huge thank you to our incredible legal team and the federal judge who made it possible for us to march in this historic parade," the group posted on Facebook the following day.Create Lasting Holiday Magic with a Personalized Letter from Santa

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Create Lasting Holiday Magic with a Personalized Letter from Santa

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