Babar Azam was promoted to open for Pakistan in the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town today (January 4), finishing the day unbeaten. Here's why.
Pakistan finally came in to start their first innings in the evening session of the second day's play, having spent over five sessions in the field as South Africa stacked up 615. Ryan Rickelton scored the first double-century by a South Africa player in a men's Test since 2016, while Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreynne also hit centuries.
When Pakistan did come out to bat, Babar walked out alongside captain Shan Masood in the opener position. Babar has never opened in a Test match before, and came in at No.3 on his return to the Test side in their last Test at Centurion. Having been dropped during Pakistan's series against England where he was batting at No.4, Babar moved up to No.3 to allow Kamran Ghulam to keep his place at No.4, pushing Masood up to the opener spot from No.3.
Masood was partnered at the top in Centurion by Saim Ayub, who has opened in every one of his eight Tests. However, in the opening session of the Cape Town Test, Ayub sustained an ankle injury chasing down a ball on the boundary, and had to be supported off the field. It was revealed this morning by the PCB that Ayub's had fractured his ankle, and would not only be ruled out of the rest of the Test but would be out of action for up to six weeks.
A big setback to Pakistan midway through the Cape Town Test
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) January 4, 2025
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Ayub's absence at the top meant Pakistan had a conundrum with their batting order. With no natural openers in their side, they opted to simply move the order up one to push Babar to the top.
He was faced with trouble early on when Masood was dismissed for two during the first over of the innings. Pakistan then slipped to 20-3 when Ghulam and Saud Shakeel were both dismissed cheaply. Babar battled through the new ball, faced with Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, and managed to successfully reach the end of play unbeaten on 31 alongside Mohammad Rizwan.
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