CAPE TOWN, South Africa — On the third day of the second Test match, Pakistan’s captain Shan Masood and his teammate Babar Azam achieved a remarkable feat by establishing a new record for the country’s opening partnership, amassing 205 runs against South Africa. This impressive stand came as South Africa enforced the follow-on after dominating the match.
Masood, who remained unbeaten on 102 runs from 166 deliveries, was crucial in revitalizing Pakistan’s batting effort. However, Babar fell short of reaching his first Test century in over two years; he was dismissed for 81 runs when he attempted a drive off left-arm bowler Marco Jansen, only to be caught at gully late in the final session of the day. After being bowled out for 194 earlier that day, Pakistan concluded the day at 213-1 but is still facing a daunting deficit of 208 runs.
The duo of Masood and Babar managed to resist South Africa’s bowlers for nearly a session and a half, especially after the team had collapsed in their first innings, losing their last six wickets for just 76 runs. Their outstanding partnership eclipsed Pakistan’s previous record for an opening partnership in Test matches, which stood at 137 runs set by Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar in 2003.
In the absence of Saim Ayub, who sustained a right ankle injury on Day 1 and is out for at least six weeks, Masood and Babar displayed consistent determination and aggressive play during their batting resurgence. Masood survived an anxious moment when a close bat-and-pad incident against spinner Keshav Maharaj was referred to television, and he then brought up his half-century with a boundary pulled off Kagiso Rabada. Babar, who had scored 58 in the first innings, quickly reached another half-century in just 73 balls, as the pair kept the scoring rate above four runs per over.
Masood completed his sixth Test century, marking his first against South Africa, by flicking Jansen to mid-wicket for his 14th boundary. Meanwhile, South Africa’s bowlers struggled to find assistance on a dry pitch that continued to favor batting conditions. Maharaj was the most threatening bowler, occasionally extracting turn from the pitch, but it was Jansen who ultimately claimed a critical wicket late in the session.
Pakistan’s batting lineup struggled during their first innings against the bowling attack led by Rabada, who took 3 wickets for 55 runs, while the young Kwena Maphaka made his mark with 2 wickets for 43 runs. Jansen and Wiaan Mulder both contributed with one wicket each. Maphaka began Pakistan’s slide by capturing the significant wicket of Babar as Pakistan fell to 155-6 by the lunch break—the 18-year-old Maphaka celebrated his debut Test wicket with Babar’s dismissal.
After starting the day precariously at 64-3, Babar and Mohammad Rizwan (46) made a commendable effort to stabilize the innings, extending their fourth-wicket partnership to 98 runs, despite close calls from Rabada and Jansen. Babar reached his second consecutive half-century of the series, but soon after, his dismissal paved the way for the fall of two more wickets in quick succession. Rizwan fell prey to Mulder after attempting an ill-timed shot, while Maharaj made a further impact just before lunch by having Salman Ali Agha stumped for 19 runs.
South Africa had previously put up an imposing 615 runs in their first innings, with standout performances from Ryan Rickelton, who notched an impressive 259 runs, supported by captain Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreynne, both of whom scored centuries (106 and 100, respectively).
This Test series has significant implications, as South Africa secured its spot in the World Test Championship final slated for June against Australia after narrowly beating Pakistan by two wickets in the opening Test at Centurion. Australia solidified its position by earning a six-wicket win over India in the final Test at Sydney earlier on the same day, reclaiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a series victory of 3-1 after a decade-long wait.
