Pakistan captain Shan Masood created a historic record after hitting the highest individual score by a Pakistani batter in Test cricket on South African soil. He scripted this epic feat to his name on Day 4 of the second Test which is being played at the Newlands ground in Cape Town. The PAK skipper surpassed former cricketer Azhar Mahmood, who previously held this record to his name with a spectacular 136 scored back in February 188 at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
Mahmood's record for the highest individual Test score by a Pakistani batter in SA might be broken but he still holds the record for the only Pakistan batter with more than one red-ball ton in Proteas homeland. His other ton came in Kingsmead, Durban during the same tour. Taufeeq Umar, Saeed Anwar, Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq are the other Pakistani batters to have smashed a Test hundred in South Africa. Shan Masood joined and topped the list on the same say with his 145 runs off 251 balls which also included 17 boundaries.
Highest score by Pakistan batters in South Africa
Shan Masood – 145, Cape Town, January 2025
Azhar Mahmood – 136, Johannesburg, February 1998
Taufeeq Umar – 135, Cape Town, January 2003
Azhar Mahmood – 132, Durban, February 1998
Saeed Anwar – 118, Durban, February 1998
Younis Khan – 111, Cape Town, February 2013
Asad Shafiq – 111, Cape Town, February 2013
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Masood creates history
Additionally, Masood became the first captain of Pakistan to reach the 100-run mark in Test matches played in South Africa. Saleem Malik held the record for the highest score after scoring 99 runs off 154 balls in January 1995. The renowned Inzamam-ul-Haq earned an undefeated 92 in Gqeberha back in January 2007.
Masood and Babar Azam, who was out on 81, shared 205 runs off 46.2 overs on Day 3 of the New Year's Test. Masood made apologies in Cape Town after being dismissed cheaply in the first Test match at Centurion's SuperSport Park. Masood also performed admirably under duress last year when Pakistan defeated England 2-1 in their home Test series. He succeeded Babar as captain of the national Test team back in 2023.