Pakistan’s Historic Opening Partnership: Masood and Babar Shine Against South Africa
CricketPanditPakistan achieved their highest opening partnership against South Africa as Shan Masood and Babar Azam displayed strong resistance on a flat pitch. Masood surpassed 30 runs for the first time in nine innings, ultimately scoring his sixth Test century, marking the first by a Pakistan captain in South Africa. Babar, stepping in for the injured Saim Ayub, contributed 81 runs. Together, they significantly reduced their first-innings deficit of 421, leaving Pakistan 208 runs behind with nine wickets in hand.
South Africa’s five main bowlers struggled on a pitch that remained favorable for batting, despite showing some signs of turn. They also bowled 23 no-balls across both innings—10 in the current second innings alone—leading to disappointment over their lack of discipline. Their only success in the second innings came late in the day when Babar chased a full, wide delivery from Marco Jansen and edged it to slip. Nightwatchman Khurram Shahzad stayed with Masood until the end of the day.
After dismissing Pakistan for 194 in the afternoon session, South Africa enforced the follow-on, aiming to finish the match quickly. However, Kagiso Rabada and Jansen both bowled too full, creating only one opportunity between them. Rabada found Masood’s edge when the captain was on 18, but the ball sailed through the vacant third slip area, leaving Rabada frustrated.
The change bowlers, Wiaan Mulder and Kwena Maphaka, posed little threat, and Pakistan reached tea at 80 without losing a wicket. Rabada and Keshav Maharaj returned for the evening session; while Rabada attempted a short-ball strategy, Maharaj found some turn, but Pakistan handled both bowlers effectively.
Masood brought up his fifty with a pull shot off Rabada through mid-wicket, while Babar reached his fifty with a drive off Jansen. It was the second time that day Babar raised his bat for a half-century, having also achieved the milestone in the first innings, marking his third consecutive fifty on this tour.As both players settled in, South Africa’s frustration reached a peak when Mulder threw the ball back at Babar, who had stepped out of his crease to defend. The ball struck Babar on the shin, leading to a heated exchange of words before Umpire Dharmasena intervened to defuse the situation. The only other moment of tension occurred when Rabada was convinced he had Masood lbw after hitting him on the knee roll, prompting South Africa to consider a review, but Rabada had overstepped.
Masood celebrated reaching his century with a flick off Jansen, glancing skyward in joy. Babar appeared poised to follow suit but slashed at a slower ball from Jansen, edging it to Bedingham at slip, marking his fifth catch of the day. Although Babar fell short of a century, he contributed 108 runs during the day—27 overnight and 81 in the second innings.
Shan Masood consoled Babar Azam after his dismissal for 81. Pakistan resumed their innings at 64 for 3 under cloudy skies and faced a challenging start. Rabada consistently beat the bat, while Jansen generated extra bounce, making life difficult for Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who managed to stay at the crease. Jansen struck Rizwan on the collarbone in the first 45 minutes as he attempted a one-armed pull, but Rizwan quickly recovered, hitting Jansen for both four and six in the same over.
Babar brought up the Pakistan hundred with an edge through the slips and reached his fifty off the next ball, chopping Rabada over point. However, when debutant Kwena Maphaka angled one down leg, Babar chased it in an attempt to flick it off his hips, only to edge it to Kyle Verreynne. Maphaka celebrated joyfully, mimicking Imran Tahir as he sprinted to deep third, followed by his teammates in celebration. This marked the third instance since 2022 that Babar has been caught down leg, making it the joint-most for a Pakistan batter during that period.
The Babar-Rizwan partnership ended at 98, with Rizwan tasked with steadily accumulating runs. Against the flow of the game, he attempted to launch a shot off Mulder to reach his fifty but ended up under-edging the ball onto his stumps. Shortly after, Salman Agha, who had previously expressed frustration over the lack of turn while bowling, was drawn forward by a delivery from Maharaj that spun past his outside edge, leading to his stumping.
Pakistan lost 6 wickets for 76 runs around lunch, with many dismissals resulting from careless shots. Aamer Jamal was dismissed by Rabada after he couldn’t resist a pull shot, while Khurram Shahzad failed to keep his square drive down. Although those two may not have been solely responsible for the collapse, they might reflect on their shot selection in the first innings with regret, especially given the conditions they faced in the second innings.
While the pitch is expected to deteriorate starting from the fourth day and offers some turn, it still remains conducive to scoring runs. With Pakistan trailing by 208 runs, they might not yet be considering the possibility of forcing South Africa to bat again, particularly since the hosts only need to take eight more wickets. Ayub, who has sustained an ankle fracture, is set to travel to London for treatment tomorrow.
