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Rawalpindi: Senuran Muthusamy and Kagiso Rabada hit fighting half-centuries as South Africa took a crucial 71-run lead over Pakistan on day three of the second Test in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.

Muthusamy made a career-best 89 not out and Rabada struck his highest score of 71 as the visitors added 169 for the last two wickets.

Veteran Pakistan spinner Asif Afridi ended the innings on 404 at the stroke of tea.
The 38-year-old Asif finished with figures of 6-79 and is the oldest man to take five wickets on a Test debut.

The afternoon session though belonged to South Africa as the World Test champions bid to square the two-match series, after losing the first Test by 93 runs in Lahore.

Muthusamy defied the Pakistan spinners, hitting eight fours to improve on his previous highest of 68 not out against Bangladesh at Chattogram last year.

Muthusamy added an invaluable 71 runs for the ninth wicket with Keshav Maharaj (30) and then increased the lead with a last-wicket stand worth 98.

Rabada smashed four sixes and as many fours, improving on the 47 he made against New Zealand at Christchurch in 2022.

The morning belonged to Asif, who at 38 years and 301 days overtook England’s Charles Marriott as oldest debutant to take five wickets.

Marriott did so against the West Indies at The Oval in 1933 aged 37 years and 332 days.
Like fellow left-armer Maharaj — who took seven wickets for the visitors in Pakistan’s 333 all out — Asif used the dry conditions to maximum effect.

South Africa resumed on 185-4 and added 100 runs in the morning session.

With the turn on the Rawalpindi stadium pitch increasing considerably, Asif dismissed Kyle Verreynne caught behind by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan for 10 with the fourth ball of the day.

Tristan Stubbs defied Pakistan’s spinners for 256 minutes before a fastish delivery from Asif trapped him leg-before for 76. 

His knock was studded with six fours and a six.

Asif completed his five-wicket haul by trapping Simon Harmer leg-before for two while Noman Ali dismissed Marco Jansen in the same manner for 12.

QUETTA: Two policemen were killed in a drive-by shooting in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, police said on Wednesday, as insurgents stepp up attacks in the resource-rich region bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

The shooting underscores the worsening security situation in Balochistan — Pakistan’s largest but least-developed province — where separatist and other militant groups have intensified assaults on police and security forces in recent months, targeting officials and infrastructure linked to the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The latest attack took place in Killi Ghareeb Abad near the Nushki city bypass, close to the Afghan border. It was the second assault on police in Balochistan’s Rakhshan division in less than a week, following the killing of senior officer Muhammad Qasim in Kharan district on Friday.

“Unknown armed men riding on a motorbike targeted the policemen identified as Ubaid Ullah and Abdul Razzaq who were going to perform their duties,” Nushki Station House Officer Zaheer Baloch told Arab News. “We have initiated an investigation and a search operation has started to hunt down the attackers.”

No group has claimed responsibility.

Balochistan, home to vast mineral reserves and key CPEC routes, has seen several major incidents this year, including the hijacking of a passenger train in March and a suicide bombing in Khuzdar in May that killed several children traveling to school.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s security forces killed a militant in an operation in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, destroying several hideouts and tunnels used by insurgents, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.

The intelligence-based operation in the Shahi Tangi forest of Bajaur district led to an intense exchange of fire in which several militants were injured but managed to flee, the report said.

“During the operation, weapons, explosive materials and communication equipment used by Khwarij were also recovered,” Radio Pakistan said. 

Militant attacks across KP have surged since November 2022, when a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Islamabad collapsed.

In recent months, Pakistan has accused India of supporting anti-state groups and Afghanistan of allowing its territory to be used for cross-border attacks. Both New Delhi and Kabul deny the allegations.