Shan Masood’s Steady 87 Keeps Pakistan in Control Against South Africa

Pakistan reached 259-3 on the opening day of the 2nd Test, with Captain Shan Masood (87) leading by example on the 1st day of Test 2 in Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday.

Coming back at 95-1 after lunch, Masood and Abdullah Shafique continued their 2nd-wicket partnership, adding 111 valuable runs to keep Pakistan in control. Both batters brought up their half-centuries. Masood completed his 13th test fifty, and Shafique completed his sixth before South Africa struck back.

Off-spinner Simon Harmer made the breakthrough again by dismissing Shafique for 57 off 146 balls. His wicket ended a very important partnership for Pakistan.

Subsequently, after a few overs, Keshav Maharaj got Babar Azam’s wicket (16 off 22 balls), and Pakistan were at 167-3 in 56 overs. Despite the setbacks, Shan Masood stayed composed and showed a fine balance between defense and controlled aggression to keep the runs flowing.

Pakistani openers Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique began with confidence and handled the new ball well. Simon Harmer was, however, the first to make any breakthrough when he bowled Imam for 17 off 35 balls.

Masood’s arrival at the crease changed Pakistan's fortunes. He attacked the spinners with confidence and within the 1st half of the day, he hit three sixes and a boundary. His approach lifted team morale and ensured Pakistan reached 95-1 during the first break.

Pakistan changed one player who had his Test debut, Asif Afridi, the 38-year-old left-arm spinner, replacing Hasan Ali, in the 2nd Test.

For South Africa, Keshav Maharaj returned from injury, while Marco Jansen also entered the team, replacing Wiaan Mulder and Prenelan Subrayen.

It should be mentioned that Pakistan began their ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 campaign on a high note by defeating the reigning champions South Africa by 93 runs in Lahore last week and now lead the two-match series 1-0.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood (c), Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Asif Afridi.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Senuran Muthusamy, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada.