RAWALPINDI: Pakistan captain Shan Masood lamented his side’s repeated batting collapses but stood firm behind the team’s spin-friendly strategy, after South Africa outplayed the hosts by eight wickets in the second Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday to draw the two-match series 1-1.

“There is a lot to work on,” Shan admitted after Pakistan’s lower order caved in on the fourth morning. “The lower-order batting, finishing the innings of the opposition, and our third-innings batting are not perfect. These are areas that continue to hurt us.”

The left-hander also defended Pakistan’s policy of preparing slow, spinning wickets for home Tests — a strategy that has drawn criticism, especially after it backfired against the Proteas.

“Look, it’s been four wins out of six since we’ve operated on these wickets,” Shan said. “Obviously, the wickets have got a bit better — they’ve been much more battable. Four out of six isn’t bad, considering in the two Tests we’ve lost, we got into winning positions. Had we finished those games off, it could easily have been six out of six.”

Shan said Pakistan were paying the price for not closing out key moments. “We had a great opportunity to close it out when we had a lead of 98 with two wickets to go, but those last two wickets cost us dearly and put us under a lot of pressure,” he said. “In these conditions, the difference between the first and third innings becomes huge. We also have to improve our first innings — we could have posted something north of 400, but we didn’t.”

His words came after another dispiriting batting collapse on home soil. Resuming the day at 94-4, Pakistan were bundled out for 138 within an hour as off-spinner Simon Harmer produced a career-best 6-50 on a wearing surface. The 36-year-old also reached his 1,000th first-class wicket, becoming only the fourth South African to reach the landmark, after Mike Procter, Allan Donald and Charlie Llewellyn.

Pakistan’s morning began with hope, as Babar Azam reached his 30th Test fifty off the second ball of the day. But moments later, Harmer trapped him leg-before to remove Pakistan’s mainstay for 50 — extending the former captain’s century drought to 15 Tests since December 2022.

That wicket opened the floodgates. Mohammad Rizwan (18) was caught close-in by Tony de Zorzi, Noman Ali nicked behind for nought to give Harmer his milestone scalp, and the tail offered little resistance. Keshav Maharaj, who followed up his 7-102 in the first innings with 2-34, cleaned up Salman Ali Agha (28) and Sajid Khan (13), while Shaheen Shah Afridi was run out without scoring.

The collapse — losing six wickets for just 44 runs — left South Africa a modest chase of 68, which they completed before lunch to seal a comfortable victory.

Skipper Aiden Markram, standing in for injured captain Temba Bavuma, led from the front with a fluent 42, while Ryan Rickelton (25 not out) finished proceedings in style, hoisting Sajid for six over long-on. Spinner Noman claimed both Markram and Tristan Stubbs, finishing with 2-40, but South Africa crossed the line in just 12.3 overs.

The result gave South Africa an ideal start to the defence of their World Test Championship title, while also offering validation for their evolving spin department. It was the team’s 11th win in their last 12 Tests, with the only defeat coming in the opening match in Lahore.

“We take a lot of confidence and belief from this win,” said Markram afterwards. “After the first Test we were put under pressure, but there were moments where guys had to put their hands up, and they really did that and excelled.”

South Africa’s first-innings total of 404 — built on crucial late-order runs from the tail — proved pivotal after Pakistan’s 333. The visitors’ 71-run lead allowed their spinners to attack freely in the second innings.

“It’s still a work in progress for us playing in these conditions,” Markram added. “But for guys to put up their hands at various stages throughout the game and the series is a big positive. It gives the change room heaps of belief and something to build on as we head to India.”

Markram, who will lead the side into a two-Test series in Kolkata from November 14, was particularly effusive in his praise for the spin quartet of Maharaj, Harmer, Senuran Muthusamy and Prenelan Subrayen, who together claimed 35 of the 40 wickets in the series. “I think the unit we have here is up with the best in the world,” he said.

For Pakistan, the defeat raised fresh questions about the balance of their side and the durability of their batting. The top order once again failed to convert starts into match-defining innings, while the bowlers struggled to polish off the opposition tail — a problem Shan himself acknowledged.

Pakisan interim red-ball head coach Azhar Mahmood called for improvement in the batting department.

“I think we were blocking a bit too much whereas we should have tried to challenge the opposition bowlers,” he said. “The turning point of the match was when we failed to capitalise on a 300-plus score in the first innings as our last five wickets fell cheaply.”

SCOREBOARD

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 333 (Shan Masood 87, Saud Shakeel 66; K. Maharaj 7-102)

SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings) 404 (S. Muthusamy 89 not out, T.Stubbs 76, K. Rabada 71; Asif Afridi 6-79)

PAKISTAN (2nd Innings, overnight 94-4):

Imam ul-Haq lbw Harmer 9

Abdullah Shafique c Jansen b Rabada 6

Shan Masood lbw Harmer 0

Babar Azam lbw Harmer 50

Saud Shakeel c Markram b Harmer 11

Mohammad Rizwan c de Zorzi b Harmer 18

Salman Ali Agha b Maharaj 28

Noman Ali c Verreynne b Harmer 0

Shaheen Shah Afridi run out 0

Sajid Khan st Verreynne b Maharaj 13

Asif Afridi not out 0

EXTRAS (NB-3) 3

TOTAL (all out, 49.3 overs) 138

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-12 (Imam), 2-16 (Shan), 3-16 (Abdullah), 4-60 (Saud), 5-96 (Babar), 6-105 (Rizwan), 7-105 (Noman), 8-105 (Shaheen), 9-129 (Salman)

BOWLING: Rabada 11-3-38-1 (3nb), Harmer 20-5-50-6, Maharaj 11.3-1-34-2, Muthusamy 4-0-11-0, Jansen 3-1-5-0

SOUTH AFRICA (2nd Innings):

R. Rickelton not out 25

A. Markram lbw Noman 42

T. Stubbs c Salman b Noman 0

EXTRAS (LB-3, NB-3) 6

TOTAL (for two wickets, 12.3 overs) 73

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-64 (Markram), 2-65 (Stubbs)

DID NOT BAT: T. de Zorzi, D. Brevis, K. Verreynne, M. Jansen, S. Muthusamy, S. Harmer, K. Maharaj, K. Rabada

BOWLING: Asif 4-0-15-0, Noman 6-0-40-2 (3nb), Sajid 2.3-0-15-0

RESULT: South Africa won by eight wickets.

PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Simon Harmer

SERIES: The two-match series drawn 1-1.

PLAYER-OF-THE-SERIES: Senuran Muthusamy

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2025