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South Africa batsman Tristan Stubbs scored an unbeaten 68 to steer his side to 185-4 at stumps on the second day of the second test against Pakistan Tuesday, but two late wickets saw the hosts keep a firm grip on the contest.The usually swashbuckling Stubbs produced a circumspect innings, featuring in a 113-run partnership with Tony de Zorzi as South Africa looked to haul in Pakistan’s first innings score of 333.South Africa still trail by 148 runs with Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne (10 not out) to resume at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium Wednesday. The 25-year-old Stubbs had been promoted back to No. 3 in South Africa’s batting lineup after a poor run in the middle order and looked to take the chance to reaffirm his place in the team after speculation he might be dropped after last week’s first test defeat in Lahore.He showed a patient approach, reaching his 50 in 149 balls with a six over the bowler’s head being one of the few extravagant strokes in his innings.De Zorzi was the only player to score a century in the first test, which Pakistan won by 93 runs, and confirmed a return to form by scoring 55 off 93 balls before losing his wicket in the last half hour before close. He was trapped by debutant spinner Asif Aridi, taking his first test wicket at the age of 38.Asif, who turns 39 in December, quickly followed it up with the wicket of Dewald Brevis, departing without scoring after a sharp delivery saw him edge to Salman Ali Agha at slip. Pakistan were dismissed shortly before lunch as South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj posted figures of 7-102 on his return to the side, taking all five Pakistan wickets Tuesday.The hosts resumed on 259-5 with Saud Shakeel and Salman extending their sixth wicket partnership to 70 runs before Salman was trapped leg before for 45.The last four Pakistan wickets fell for 17 runs with Saud (66) caught at slip by captain Aiden Markram as South Africa’s catching showed a marked improvement from Monday when they dropped several good chances.Left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy, who took 11 wickets in the first test, bowled only four overs, relegated to a back-up role as Maharaj dominated with the ball and emphasised his position as South Africa’s top Test spinner.BRIEF SCORES: South Africa 185 for 4 (Stubbs 68*, de Zorzi 55, Asif Afridi 2-24) trail Pakistan 333 (Shakeel 66, Agha 45, Maharaj 7-102) by 148 runs.

Pakistan punished poor catching from South Africa to accumulate 259-5 on the opening day of the second and final Test in Rawalpindi on Monday.Had the tourists not dropped five catches on a turning pitch they would have been in a better position after Pakistan won the toss and batted.Skipper Shan Masood, dropped on 71 off a luckless Keshav Maharaj, top-scored with 87 while Abdullah Shafique - dropped four times - made 57.Saud Shakeel and Salman Agha will resume on Tuesday unbeaten on 42 and 10 respectively, with the home team seeking a 2-0 series win against the world Test champions.South African pacer Kagiso Rabada trapped Mohammad Rizwan with the fifth delivery with the second new ball for 19 to give some respite to his team.Maharaj, who missed the first Test in Lahore through injury, took 2-63 and fellow spinner Simon Harmer 2-75.With the bulk of the bowling done by Maharaj and Harmer, spinner Senuran Muthusamy -- who took 11 wickets in the first Test -- was surprisingly used for just four overs.The final session also saw Masood fall to an uppish sweep off Maharaj, caught by Marco Jansen, after hitting two fours and three sixes in his innings.Earlier, Shafique's chancy knock finally ended when he edged Harmer to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne after adding an invaluable 111 runs for the second wicket with skipper Masood.The struggling Babar Azam, again cheered by a home crowd willing him to return to form, was dismissed for just 16 when Tony de Zorzi took a low catch at silly point for Maharaj's first wicket.Azam has gone 29 Test innings without a century.Maharaj himself dropped Shafique on 15 off his own bowling and then saw Aiden Markram drop the same batter on 41 and 53.Shafique also survived on nine when a Jansen delivery rolled onto the stumps but did not dislodge the bails.Shafique admitted he was lucky."You need luck in cricket and I was lucky today," said Shafique. "Catches get dropped in cricket and today we benefitted from them and now we need to post a 350-plus total from here."In the morning session South Africa's only breakthrough came from Harmer, who bowled Imam-ul-Haq for 17 with a sharp turner that beat the bat and hit off-stump.Rabada was also unlucky when Tristan Stubbs dropped Shafique in the slips off the fourth ball of the match when he was on nought."It was an even day because we controlled their run rate," said Maharaj. "We know how important are catches but no-one means to drop catches although it was frustrating."Having won the first Test in Lahore by 93 runs, Pakistan included a third spinner in Asif Afridi, dropping fast bowler Hasan Ali.At 38 years and 299 days, Asif became the second oldest Pakistani Test debutant, behind Miran Bakhsh, who made his debut at 47 years and 284 days against India in 1955.BRIEF SCORES:Pakistan 259 for 5 (Masood 87, Shafique 57, Maharaj 2-63, Harmer 2-75) vs South Africa

Spinners dominate on difficult pitchNoman Ali takes a 10-wicket match haulPakistan lead 1-0 in two-match seriesPakistan secured a 93-run victory over South Africa on the fourth day of the first test, taking the eight wickets needed on Wednesday to go 1-0 up in the two-match series.Left-arm spinner Noman Ali completed a 10-wicket haul and seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi took the last three wickets as South Africa, who were 51-2 overnight, were dismissed for 183 in the middle session.The slow and deteriorating wicket proved far too testing for the tourists although Dewald Brevis offered them hope as he bludgeoned a quick-fire half century.South Africa were always going to be up against it when Tony de Zorzi, who scored a century in the first innings, was trapped leg before wicket by Shaheen Shah Afridi in the first over of the morning, as they chased a target of 277 to extend a 10-test winning streak.It was a rare wicket for a seamer in a contest where neither side used them much, such was the spin-friendly condition of the turning wicket, although Afridi returned to secure victory for his team.Tristan Stubbs lasted only eight balls before a viciously turning delivery from Noman deceived him, bringing Brevis to the wicket.The 22-year-old already has a reputation in limited overs cricket for his expansive hitting and did not temper his approach in his third test appearance.He made up for his first ball dismissal in the first innings with 54 runs off as many balls as he put the pressure back onto the Pakistan bowlers and offered South Africa the brief potential of an unlikely win.Together with Ryan Rickelton they put on a 73-run partnership, but Noman had the last laugh with a turning delivery that clean bowled Brevis.Rickelton then got a leading edge to Sajid’s turning ball to depart for 45, leaving the tourists 137-6 at lunch.The last four wickets fell without much resistance with Afridi given another spell to wrap up the tail and return figures of 4-33. Noman took 4-79 to add to his six wickets in the first innings."We built enough margins where we could have the upper hand and I'm glad we finished it off," said Pakistan captain Shan Masood.Defeat for South Africa marked a losing start to the defence of their World Test Championship crown at the beginning of a new two-year cycle."There was some good stuff over the few days that we played, I thought, really good signs, I suppose, bat and ball. So we have a bit to take out, bit to learn as well, and clean up our space for the next game," said South Africa captain Aiden Markram.Next week's second test will be played in Rawalpindi.BRIEF SCORES:Pakistan 378 and 167 (Babar 42, Muthusamy 5-57, Harmer 4-51) beat South Africa 269 and 183 (Brevis 54, Rickelton 45, Afridi 4-33, Noman 4-79) by 93 runs

The first Test between Pakistan and South Africa was set for a thrilling conclusion after rival spinners Noman Ali and Senuran Muthusamy wrought destruction on day three in Lahore Tuesday.Muthusamy took a maiden 10-wicket match haul to help bowl Pakistan out for 167 in their second innings on another day dominated by spin and give South Africa a target of 277 for victory.But Noman, following up his 6-112 in the first innings, dismissed captain Aiden Markram for three and Wiaan Mulder (nought) to keep the visitors down to 51-2 at the close.Ryan Rickelton, 29 not out, and Tony de Zorzi, unbeaten on 16, fought till stumps with South Africa needing another 226 runs.Pakistan need eight wickets for a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.With the threatening spin duo of Noman and Sajid Khan the home team will fancy their chances, especially because no visiting team in Pakistan has ever chased more than the 220-8 Sri Lanka did in Rawalpindi in 2000.Pakistan head coach Azhar Ali was in buoyant mood."We will definitely defend this target," said the former Pakistan all-rounder."The state of the pitch and our spinners make us favourites, despite our batting not up to the mark in the second outing."De Zorzi, who hit a century in South Africa's first innings, acknowledged the pressure was on."These are tough conditions for batting, but hopefully myself and Rickelton can build tomorrow," he said."We will definitely give our best tomorrow, knowing that partnerships will be like gold."As a gripping match approaches its climax, Muthusamy destroyed Pakistan with figures of 5-57 to add to his 6-117 while fellow spinner Simon Harmer took 4-51 as Pakistan lost their last six wickets for 17 runs.The hosts were fairly well placed at 150-4 but Saud Shakeel holed out for 38 off Muthusamy to trigger a collapse in the last over before tea.Harmer bowled Mohammad Rizwan for 14 before Muthusamy ran riot.He dismissed Salman Agha for four, Noman Ali for 11 and Shaheen Shah Afridi for nought to finish with match figures of 11-174, taking four wickets off 21 balls.Harmer ended Pakistan's sloppy batting display by removing Sajid Khan for one.Earlier, South Africa were dismissed for 269 an hour before lunch, conceding a lead of 109 after Pakistan's first-innings 378.Noman took 6-112 for his ninth haul of five wickets or more in Tests.Muthusamy magicWith the Gaddafi Stadium taking big turn, South Africa tossed Harmer the new ball in Pakistan's second innings.The 36-year-old had Imam-ul-Haq stumped by wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne for nought before trapping captain Shan Masood lbw for seven.Muthusamy then had Abdullah Shafique for 41 and pacer Kagiso Rabada trapped Babar Azam leg-before for 42.Azam has now failed to score a hundred in 28 Test innings dating back to December 2022.Earlier, South Africa's De Zorzi resumed on 81 at the start of the day and carried the fight to Pakistan, completing his second Test century with a six and two singles off Noman.The left-hander finally holed out for 104 to long-on off Noman, where Shaheen Shah Afridi took a low catch, ending a 208-minute innings containing 10 fours and two sixes.Noman, who bowled a probing 35 overs, also removed Prenelan Subrayen for four during the session.Fellow spinner Sajid took the first wicket of the day when he had Muthusamy caught by Salman Agha for 11.He then wrapped up the innings when he bowled Rabada for nought to finish with 3-98 off 33 overs.BRIEF SCORES:outh Africa 51 for 2 (Rickelton 29*, Noman 2-20) and 269 (de Zorzi 104, Noman 6-112, Sajid 3-98) need another 226 runs to beat Pakistan 167 (Babar 42, Muthusamy 5-57, Harmer 4-51) and 378 (Agha 93, Imam 93, Muthusamy 6-117)

Pakistan rode on a brilliant 93 from Imam-ul-Haq to reach 313-5 after a brief fightback from South Africa on the opening day of the first Test in Lahore on Sunday.Shan Masood hit 76, but Haq missed out on his hundred and Pakistan slumped to 199-5 as four wickets fell quickly.Mohammad Rizwan, 62 not out, and Salman Agha, unbeaten 52 at the close, rebuilt the innings during an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 114 in the final session on a spin-friendly Gaddafi Stadium pitch.Rizwan hit two fours and two sixes in his 12th Test half-century while Agha had two fours and a six in reaching his 10th fifty.Pakistan dominated most of the first two sessions, but then had a mini-collapse from 163-1 to 199-5 as they lost four wickets for 36 runs, the last three without adding a run either side of the tea interval."We have batted us to a good position," said Haq, playing his first Test since December 2023."We must score over 400 to get us in a strong position. Regarding missing a hundred, that's always disappointing."Spinner Prenelan Subrayen trapped Masood lbw for 76, including nine fours and a six, to end a 161-run stand with Haq.Left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy then had Haq caught at short-leg by Tony de Zorzi, after a 236-minute knock that included seven fours and a six.Next ball - the last before tea - Muthusamy had Saud Shakeel caught and bowled to bring South Africa back into the game at 199-4.Local hero Babar Azam fell for 23, trapped leg-before by Harmer after the interval to make it 199-5 and leave a good 10,000 holiday crowd disappointed.South Africa could have been in a better position had they not dropped Masood on 61 and Haq on 72 with Subrayen the unlucky bowler on both occasions.South Africa spinner Simon Harmer hoped they could finish off the Pakistan innings quickly on day two."We had a good day and now need to take positives from today and keep Pakistan under 400," he said."That would be great because this pitch will take more spin as the match progresses," said Harmer, who had figures of 1-75.With the pitch likely to turn, Masood opted to bat after winning the toss and named specialist spin duo Noman Ali and Sajid Khan in the teamPakistan lost opener Abdullah Shafique leg before to pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada off the third ball of the day.South African captain Aiden Markram turned to his spinners in the sixth over and by lunch had used all three -- Subrayen, Harmer and Muthusamy.But there were no further dramas in the opening session as Pakistan reached 107-1 at lunch after Haq had brought up his 10th Test fifty.The two-match series is part of the new World Test Championship two-year cycle. South Africa won the title by beating Australia in June.