DAY 1: Proteas fight back to share honours on first day

Despite missing a number of chances, South Africa did well to restrict Pakistan to 259 for five in 91 overs on the first day of the second test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood was the mainstay for the home team, compiling 87 in 176 balls) while opener Abdullah Shafique contributed a valuable, albeit chancy 57, his sixth test half-century. For South Africa, Keshav Maharaj (2/63) and Simon Harmer (2/75) bowled the bulk of the overs with Kagiso Rabada claiming the late scalp of Muhammad Rizwan with the second new ball.

Pakistan struck the first blow by winning the toss, yet again, giving them the chance of batting first on a pitch that is expected to deteriorate later on. On the whole, however, the strip played pretty well, offering the bowlers, particularly the spinners, relatively little assistance.

South Africa will be pleased that they kept the Pakistan run-rate to below three to the over, unlike in Lahore in the first test, but they will be concerned that they gave the home team’s batters a number of free passes, with opener Abdullah Shafique (57) particularly fortunate, being dropped four times.

The drops started in the first over, with Shafique grassed by Tristan Stubbs in the slips, a relatively routine chance straight to him at knee height.

Shafique doubled up on his luck in the sixth over, delivered by Marco Jansen – who replaced Wiaan Mulder in the Proteas’ team while Maharaj replaced Prenelan Subrayen – the ball just nicking the outside of the right-hander’s off-stump without disturbing the bails. The opener’s third bit of good fortune in the morning occurred when he drove Maharaj uppishly to the spinner’s left, the ball brushing his hands as he dived to take the return catch.

South Africa’s high point in the session came when offspinner Harmer, in his opening over, bowled the perfect delivery to Imam-ul-Haq, the ball pitching on the left-hander’s leg stump before clipping the off. Despite hopes that this might signal a rush of wickets, that ball was one of the few deliveries to deviate from the straight on a pitch that looked better for batting than the surface at Lahore last week.

Skipper Masood, who came in with the score on 35 in the 13th over, took 15 balls to get off the mark but then showed good aggression, twice driving Harmer for sixes over long on and then doing the same to left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy who only bowled four overs in the day, despite taking 11 wickets in Lahore.

Shafique battled through after his scratchy start, reaching 37 in 82 balls at the break while Masood was more positive, striking one four and three sixes in his 38 off 63 balls. The pair had added 60 off 105 balls at lunch.

Shafique’s luck continued to hold after the break. The right-hander edged a round-arm delivery from Maharaj that turned, but wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne’s flailing glove deflected the ball to Aiden Markram at slip who juggled but finally grassed it.

Maharaj was again the loser eight overs later when Shafique danced down the pitch, the ball beating his outside edge as well as the gloves of Verreynne, a clear stumping chance. The left-arm spinner could be forgiven for feeling even more frustrated when yet another opportunity was missed after the drinks break, when Shan Masood top-edged a sweep to Muthusamy at midwicket who dropped a very presentable chance as the ball looped to his right.

But then, finally, the Proteas held on to a couple of chances. The first was a strangle down the leg side off Harmer, with Verreynne taking a good catch to end the stay of Shafique (57 in 146 balls). He and Masood had added an important 111 in 230 balls for the second wicket, giving the Pakistan innings a sturdy foundation.

But from that point on, the South Africans gradually clawed back lost ground. Tony de Zorzi took a fine diving catch at silly mid-off to end an entertaining cameo from Babar Azam who had struck three boundaries in his 22-ball 16 and had looked set to speed up the scoring rate.

Tea was taken with the total on 177 for three with Masood – whose progress had slowed after his bright start – on 77.

Nothing much happened in the first hour of the final session with Masood and Saud Shakeel reduced to taking singles while the spinners toiled with little reward. But then Masood, perhaps frustrated at his slow progress, got a top-edge sweeping at Maharaj, giving Jansen an easy catch at square leg. The skipper had played an important knock, striking two fours and three sixes in his innings.

South Africa slightly delayed taking the new ball but Rabada eventually took it in the 85th over and immediately struck, trapping Muhammad Rizwan leg before for 19. The review questioning the ‘out’ decision was always likely to fail, the ball striking middle and leg halfway up.

Saud Shakeel finished on a useful 42 not out overnight but South Africa will know that the second new ball is only seven overs old and they will hope to keep Pakistan to below 300 on Tuesday on a pitch that may still be good for batting in their first innings.

PAKISTAN: Shan Masood (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Asif Afridi

SOUTH AFRICA: Aiden Markram (captain), Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada