South Africa will be left lamenting lost opportunities on day one of the second Test against Pakistan at Rawalpindi. Having taken several chances, the visitors failed to capitalise on Pakistan’s misfortunes at the start and allowed the hosts to gain a solid grip on the game.
Day One Recap: Pakistan Dominates Despite Early Setbacks
During day one of the SA vs PAK Test in Rawalpindi, Pakistan decided to bat first on a difficult pitch that is likely to become even more difficult as the match unfolds.
By the end of the first day of play, Pakistan were on 259 for 5, in a commanding position, courtesy mainly of a calm innings by Shan Masood, who remained unbeaten on 87. The tale of the day, though, was that of South Africa’s failure to capitalize on quite a number of obvious chances.
The pitch, which has been providing little spin as yet, is already causing problems for the batsmen, with deliveries sometimes keeping low. The South African bowlers benefited from reverse swing to an extent, but their fielding failed them, as they dropped four obvious chances and made many others without reaping reward.
South Africa’s Missed Chances: A Costly Day in the Field
South Africa’s fielding was the subject of much chat during the day, the team putting down no fewer than four opportunities. The first arrived when Kagiso Rabada detected the edge of Abdullah Shafique on 0, but the catch was mishandled by Tristan Stubbs at third slip. Shafique took advantage of the chance, going on to hit 51 runs.
Rabada was then able to find Imam-ul-Haq’s edge twice, but the balls went just short of the slip fielders. South Africa also let an opportunity slide when Marco Jansen got the inside edge of Shafique, the ball brushing the stumps but not knocking off the bails. There were two other chances as well when Shafique edged Keshav Maharaj’s deliveries, but the opportunities did not reach the fielders.
The missed opportunities were not only for Shafique but also for Shan Masood, who top-scored with 87. Masood was denied when Muthusamy dropped him off a sweep shot. This inability to capitalize on opportunities enabled Pakistan to establish partnerships and maintain the scoreboard running, even under difficult batting conditions.
Main Associations: Masood and Shafique’s Resilience
Pakistan’s innings was founded on solid associations, and chief among them was the second-wicket partnership between Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood, which was of 111 runs.
Read More
Shafique, though lucky with dropped chances, appeared solid and scored his half-century off 120 balls. Masood, by contrast, displayed great composure, pushing the scoring rate along after a slow start, going so far as to hit a six off Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy to give some belligerence to the innings.
Once Shafique got out for 58, caught behind by Harmer, Masood persisted in his cautious knock, forging alliances with Babar Azam (71) and Saud Shakeel (42* at stumps). With the day’s end, Pakistan was comfortably poised on 259 for 5.
South Africa’s Bowlers: Relentless yet Unfortunate
As South Africa’s bowlers worked hard, they were left disappointed by missed chances in the field. Rabada was the best of the bowlers, repeatedly troubling the Pakistani top order with his reverse swing, but was unable to capitalize on the early gains that were presented to him. Marco Jansen also made some inroads, beating batsmen with reverse swing, but his work wasn’t sufficient to penetrate Pakistan’s defense.
After 16 overs filled with respectability, Pakistan’s scoring rate marginally nudged above 2.5 runs an over before Masood began to do his thing. His positive intent had South Africa reconsidering their strategy, but Pakistan was advancing slowly enough to be in a good position for the remainder of the day.
Pakistan’s Progress: Sedate but Steady
Although there were missed opportunities along with unfavorable batting conditions, Pakistan made partnerships and were quite unharmed. They reached the break at 95 for 1 with timid batting from Masood and Shafique.
In a heart-stopping moment, Babar Azam survived an lbw review, and soon thereafter Maharaj got him out for 71, providing the South Africans with a badly needed breakthrough. Yet, even with the setback, Pakistan’s consistent batting continued to plague the South Africans.
Key Moments: A Changing of the Tide
The moment of reckoning for Pakistan came when Babar Azam was dismissed for 71, giving South Africa their first breakthrough at 177 for 3, but more frustration soon followed for the visitors with Masood being dubious again, this time surviving a very difficult chance at short leg.
South Africa’s persistence, however, was eventually to be rewarded as De Zorzi at silly mid-off collected a spectacular one-handed catch to have Azam dismissed. With Masood remaining at the crease, and with Shakeel giving good support, Pakistan closed the day in a strong position at 259 for 5.
ALSO READ: Most Runs In T20 Cricket – Top Run Scorers Of All Time
