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.p>
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.p>
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.p>
Pakistan's highest opening partnership in South Africa:p>
Shan Masood and Babar Azam: 205 runs in 2025p>
Saeed Anwar and Aamer Sohail: 101 runs in 1998p>
Saleem Elahi and Taufeeq Umar: 77 runs in 2002p>
Imam-ul-Haq and Shan Masood: 67 runs in 2019p>
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.p>
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.p>
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.
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