Pakistan captain Shan Masood has heaped praise over Babar Azam's act of stepping up when the team lost opener Saim Ayub to injury in the second Test match against South Africa at Newlands, Cape Town.
Babar came to open for the first time in Test cricket after Saim suffered an ankle injury in the Newlands Test and got ruled out. The former Pakistan skipper scored back-to-back half-centuries in the Test to show he has been returning to form.
Babar, who had not hit a fifty-plus score since December 2022, made 50 in the second innings of the first Test in Centurion before hitting 58 and 81 in the Cape Town Test.
Pakistan skipper Masood has praised Babar for his act. "It was unfortunate that Babar got out to a shot that he plays really well. His character, stepping up and raising his hand when we lost Saim to open the innings and get back-to-back scores, those are things that pleases you more than anything. There have been some characteristics from a lot of individuals in this team that have stepped up whenever required," Masood said in the post-match presentation after losing the second Test by 10 wickets.
Shan and Babar were the cornerstones of a second-inning fightback from the visitors after they were called for a follow-on. The Men in Green were bowled out for 194 in the first innings in reply to South Africa's 615.
They replied strongly after following on and slammed 478 in the second essay, the highest by a visiting team in South Africa. This is also Pakistan's third-highest team score after getting a follow on in Test cricket with 657/8d against West Indies and 537 against Australia being the other two.
Shan made 145, the highest by a Pakistan batter in South Africa and third-highest by an Asian captain in the Proteas nation. Masood stated that he does not worry about personal milestones.
"I never look at personal achievements or milestones. You want anything you do well to end up in a winning cause whether that's a good 30 or a 150 or 200. To have that stand with Babar, the fightback and the response after being put back in, we almost got through the day without losing a wicket," he said
