Pakistan vs South Africa 2025 Test Match Report – October 12-16
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Pakistan Builds Led in First Test Against South Africa
Table of Contents
Imam-ul-Haq and Shan Masood forge a strong partnership, navigating a challenging bowling attack in the opening match of their ICC World Test Championship series.
First Session Recap: Pakistan Dominates
Pakistan, having won the toss and electing to bat first, reached 107 for 1 at lunch on the first day of the opening Test match against South Africa. The foundation for this strong start was laid by a 105-run second-wicket partnership between imam-ul-Haq and captain Shan Masood.
South Africa’s bowlers struggled to consistently trouble the Pakistani batsmen. Simon Harmer, however, found some success with his variations in pace and bounce. His third delivery pitched on middle stump and narrowly missed Masood’s outside edge. Harmer continued to exploit the bounce, but South Africa lacked support from the other end.
Masood targeted Keshav Maharaj, who was later replaced by Tshepo Muthusamy. Masood effectively utilized the reverse sweep against Muthusamy, even surviving a close call when an edge off the sweep wasn’t cleanly caught by Kyle Verreynne.
Imam Reaches Fifty, Rabada Tests Imam
Imam-ul-Haq reached his half-century, scoring 50 runs off 65 balls with a single off Harmer. Shortly before the lunch break, South Africa brought kagiso Rabada back into the attack. Rabada reviewed a delivery that struck imam on the front pad, but replays confirmed the impact was outside the line, allowing Imam to continue to 59 not out at the break.
Key Players and Stats (as of Lunch)
| player | Team | Runs | Balls Faced | Fours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| imam-ul-haq | Pakistan | 59* | 65 | 7 |
| Shan Masood | Pakistan | 44* | 84 | 5 |
| Kagiso Rabada | South Africa | 1 | 12 | 0 |