Pakistan lost the second Test in Rawalpindi to draw the series 1-1 against South Africa. Here are the Pakistan player ratings from the series.
Abdullah Shafique - 4
4 innings, 106 runs @ 26.50, 1 fifty, HS: 57
Shafique made two 40-plus scores bookended by two single-digit scores to start and finish off his comeback series. His only half-century was a lucky one, where he got several reprieves.
Imam-ul-Haq - 5
4 innings, 119 runs @ 29.75, 1 fifty, HS: 93
Another returning opener who had similar overall returns as his partner. The bulk of Imam's runs, however, came in the first innings of the first Test. His last three knocks read: 0, 17, 9.
Shan Masood - 7
4 innings, 170 runs @ 42.50, 2 fifties, HS: 87
The Pakistan captain was their joint-highest scorer in the series. No other Pakistan batter made two fifties. Masood would be disappointed for not having converted either of those into hundreds.
Babar Azam - 6
4 innings, 141 runs @ 32.75, 1 fifty, HS: 50
Babar Azam finally ended his three-year long home Test fifty drought in his last innings of the series under tough conditions, arresting a collapse that threatened an innings defeat at one point. There were no big scores, but he got starts each of the four times he batted.
Saud Shakeel - 5
4 innings, 115 runs @ 28.75, 1 fifty, HS: 66
The left-hander had a rough start to the series, recording a golden duck in Lahore, but came back with scores of 38 and 66. However, on pitches that weren't exactly minefields, Pakistan would have expected more out of him, especially after the kind of start he had to his Test career.
Mohammad Rizwan - 6
4 innings, 126 runs @ 31.50, 1 fifty, HS: 75
Rizwan made a crucial 75 in the first innings in Lahore when Pakistan went from 199-2 to 199-5. His 163-run stand with Salman Agha helped them put up a 375-plus total. That knock was followed by three starts - 14, 18, 19 - none of which culminated into anything meaningful.
Salman Agha - 7
4 innings, 170 runs @ 42.50, 1 fifty, HS: 93
3 innings, 1 wicket @ 38, 0 5WI, BBI: 1-21
Agha was his usual consistent self, first bailing Pakistan out of trouble with 93 in the first innings in Lahore, before scoring 45 and 28 in Rawalpindi. He wasn't required a lot with the ball.
Noman Ali - 8
4 innings, 14 wickets @ 23.07, 1 5WI, BBI: 6-112
Pakistan's left-arm linchpin started with a ten-wicket haul in Lahore which took his tally of five-fors in consecutive Test matches to five. At Rawalpindi, he was overshadowed by the 38-year-old debutant Asif Afridi as South Africa negotiated him relatively well, giving away only four wickets across the two innings.
Hasan Ali - 1
2 innings, 0 wickets
Hasan Ali had a minimal role to play in the only match he was selected. His ten overs across the two innings in Lahore yielded 28 runs for no wickets. He was replaced by a third spinner in Rawalpindi.
Shaheen Afridi - 6
3 innings, 5 wickets @ 28.60, 0 5WI, BBI: 4-33
Afridi's reverse-swing fuelled four-wicket burst in the second innings to close off the first Test was his highlight of the series. He wasn't able to replicate those heroics in Rawalpindi though, as South Africa added 169 runs for the last two wickets to turn the game on its head.
Sajid Khan - 3
4 innings, 6 wickets @ 45, 0 5WI, BBI: 3-98
The off-spinner largely went under the radar in a series dominated by left-arm spin. His control wasn't as high as Pakistan would have liked, and that reflected in his average of 45. Four of his six wickets were of left-handers, and only three of the six were of top-six batters.
Asif Afridi - 9
2 innings, 6 wickets @ 15.66, 1 5WI, BBI: 6-79
Afridi had a dream start to his Test career as he became the oldest debutant to take a five-wicket haul in the format. His accuracy was his biggest weapon, as he targetted the stumps with precision and got the rewars. At 38, how many caps he will add to his first remains to be seen, but he already has a success story to tell even if that number doesn't increase.
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