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RAWALPINDI: 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 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 four 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.

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.

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.

Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit ������Ƶ on Oct. 26, his office confirmed on Monday, while a source with direct knowledge of the trip confirmed the premier will attend the annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh and hold talks with the Saudi leadership. 

The ninth edition of the FII is scheduled to be held from Oct. 27 to Oct. 30 in Riyadh. The unitive was launched in October 2017 by ������Ƶ’s Public Investment Fund in conjunction with its Vision 2030 economic reform strategy. 

The annual conference brings together global leaders, policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and innovators to explore future investment opportunities, stimulate innovation and advance emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, green finance and to help shape the future of the global economy. 

“Yes, the PM is visiting ������Ƶ on Oct. 26,” the Prime Minister’s Office told Arab News when asked about Sharif’s visit to the Kingdom. It did not provide further details of the visit. 

However, a source with direct knowledge of the prime minister’s visit confirmed that Sharif will attend the FII conference and hold bilateral talks with the Saudi leadership, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, during the four-day trip to the Kingdom. 

Sharif visited ������Ƶ last month where he met the Saudi crown prince and signed a landmark strategic defense deal with the Kingdom. The pact stipulates that any act of aggression against one country will be considered an attack against both, underscoring their deep strategic partnership. 

It encompasses a comprehensive framework for defense cooperation, including joint military training, intelligence sharing, collaborative exercises, and technology exchange, reflecting the growing trust and alignment between the two nations. 

������Ƶ remains a key economic and strategic partner for Pakistan. In October last year, the two countries signed 34 agreements and memoranda of understanding worth $2.8 billion. The MoUs were aimed at boosting private sector collaboration and commercial partnerships between the brotherly nations. 

Riyadh has also extended vital support to Pakistan in the past when the South Asian country grappled with economic crises, providing it crucial external financing and assistance necessary for the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) loan programs.

������Ƶ is also home for over 2.5 million Pakistani expatriates, serving as the largest source of foreign remittances for Islamabad. These remittances serve as a key lifeline for Islamabad’s fragile $350 billion economy.