CAPE TOWN: Captain Shan Masood and star batter Babar Azam bagged plethora of records with their 205-run opening partnership on the third day of the second Test against South Africa here at the Newlands on Sunday.
The experienced duo stepped up when the national team were forced to follow-on after being dismissed for a meagre 194 runs in the first innings.
Babar and Shan batted sensibly and went on to forge a marathon 205-run partnership, which helped them break multiple records, besides reducing Pakistan's deficit to 208 runs.
Their stand is now the highest by a Pakistani opening pair in South Africa, breaking the previous record of Aamer Sohail and Saeed Anwar, who had put together 101 runs in 1998.
Pakistan's highest opening partnership in South Africa:
Shan Masood and Babar Azam: 205 runs in 2025
Saeed Anwar and Aamer Sohail: 101 runs in 1998
Saleem Elahi and Taufeeq Umar: 77 runs in 2002
Imam-ul-Haq and Shan Masood: 67 runs in 2019
Furthermore, their 205-run partnership is also the highest opening partnership for Pakistan in all of South Africa Tests, surpassing the previous-best of 137 runs, which was set by Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar in 2003.
It was also the second-highest partnership for Pakistan in Tests against South Africa for any wicket, only behind the 219-run partnership for the fifth-wicket between Younis Khan and Asad Shafique.
Meanwhile, Babar, who was forced to open the innings, in absence of injured Saim Ayub, also bagged an individual record as he became the first Pakistani batter to score three half-centuries in a series, played in South Africa.
- Babar Azam
