second Test to be held in Rawalpindi from October 20

(Asghar Ali Mubarak).

In the opening match of the World Test Cricket Championship, Pakistan defeated South Africa in the Lahore Test with the best teamwork, team spirit, brilliant captaincy, spin and fast bowling to take a 0-1 lead in the series.

The second Test will be played from October 20 to 24 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi and the first T20 will be played on October 28, 2025 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium,

Rawalpindi..Noman Ali broke Abdul Qadir’s 37-year-old recordNoman Ali became the Pakistani bowler to take the most wickets in a 5-Test series,

he took 46 wickets during the 16th to 20th Test of his career. Abdul Qadir took 44 wickets in the 48th to 52nd Tests of his career in 1987 and 88. Pakistan’s Nauman Ali is also the world’s most successful spinner in the last 12 months. Nauman Ali took 10 wickets in the Lahore Test against South Africa,

taking 6 in the first innings and 4 in the second innings. Earlier this year, he took 6 wickets in the first Test against the West Indies and 10 wickets in the second Test, while in the series against England,

Nauman Ali dismissed 11 players in Multan and 9 in Rawalpindi. It may be recalled that Pakistani spinner Nauman Ali also registered his name in the record books on the third day of the Test match yesterday.

He broke the 37-year-old Test record of former Pakistani spinner Iqbal Qasim against South Africa. 39-year-old Noman Ali took 6 wickets in South Africa’s first innings, taking 5 or more wickets in an innings for the 9th time in his Test career, becoming the Pakistani left-arm spinner to take the most 5 wickets in a Test cricket innings.

Pakistan defeated South Africa by 93 runs in the first match of the 2-Test series to take a 0-1 lead in the series. In the first Test match played at the Gaddafi Stadium, Pakistan had given South Africa a target of 272 runs to win, in response to which the South African team was bowled out for 183 runs.

In pursuit of the target, Dewald Brews was the top scorer for the visiting team South Africa by scoring 54 runs, while Nauman Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi took 4 wickets each and Sajid Khan took 2 wickets for the Pakistani team. Pakistani spinner Nauman Ali took 10 wickets in the match, Sajid Khan took 5 wickets, Shaheen Shah Afridi took 4 wickets, and Salman Ali Agha took one wicket.

In the first innings, Pakistan scored 378 runs, in response to which South Africa scored 269 runs and the host team took a lead of 109 runs. In the second innings, the national team was bowled out for 167 runs and the visiting team was given a target of 277 runs to win.

Earlier, in the first innings, Pakistan scored 378 runs, in response to which South Africa scored 269 runs and the host team took a lead of 109 runs. In the second innings, Pakistan were bowled out for 167 and the visiting team South Africa set a target of 277 runs to win. When the fourth day began,

South Africa began their incomplete innings with 51 runs for the loss of 2 wickets, South African batsmen Ryan Rickelton had scored 29 and Tony de Zorzi had scored 16 runs.

Tony de Zorzi fell victim to Shaheen Shah Afridi on the third ball of the fourth day without adding any runs, while Ryan Rickelton was dismissed by Nauman Ali after scoring 45 runs and Tristan Stubbs was a guest of just 2 runs.

When the fourth day began, South Africa began their incomplete innings with 51 runs for the loss of 2 wickets, South African batsmen Ryan Rickelton had scored 29 and Tony de Zorzi had scored 16 runs.

Tony de Zorzi fell victim to Shaheen Shah Afridi on the third ball of the fourth day without adding any runs, while Ryan Rickelton was dismissed by Nauman Ali after scoring 45 runs and Tristan Stubbs was dismissed for just 2 runs.

Dewald Brewes troubled the Pakistani bowlers, but Nauman Ali once again used his experience to bowl him out, scoring 54 runs off 54 balls, which included 2 sixes and 6 fours.

Remember that Pakistan had won the toss and decided to bat in the match and scored 378 runs in the first innings thanks to half-centuries by Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha, while Senoran Muthuswamy had dismissed 6 players for South Africa. In response,

the entire South African team was bowled out for 269 runs. Tony de Zorzi played an innings of 104 runs with the help of 10 fours and 2 sixes for the Proteas, while Ryan Rickelton scored 71 runs.

Noman Ali took 6 and Sajid Khan took 3 wickets for the national team. Despite taking a 109-run lead over South Africa, the national team could not perform well in the second innings and the entire team was bundled out for 167 runs. Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafiq were prominent by scoring 42 and 41 runs, respectively.

Muthuswamy, who took 6 wickets in the first innings for South Africa, also took 5 wickets in the second innings. Simon Harmer took 4 wickets and Kagiso Rabada took one wicket.

Pakistan team; Shan Masood (captain), Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafiq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan;

South Africa team; Aiden Markram (captain), Dewald Brewers, Tony de Zorzi, Simon Harmer, Wian Mulder, Senoran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickleton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenellen Subrian, Kyle Verney;

Match umpires are Chris Brown (New Zealand) and Rod Tucker (Australia), TV umpire: Sharafudullah Saikat (Bangladesh), and match referee Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).

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ISLAMABAD, 11 October 2025: Pakistan are set to take on South Africa in the first of the two-Test match series commencing on Sunday, 12 October, at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The second Test will be played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from 20 to 24 October.

The Test matches are part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 and will be followed by six white-ball matches (three T20Is and three ODIs) between the two sides from 28 October to 8 November.

The Test series marks the start of a new cycle for the Pakistan Men’s team in the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 and their first opponents are South Africa – the champions of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25.

This will also be the first occasion since the inception of the ICC World Test Championship in 2019 that Pakistan will be playing their opening series of a WTC cycle at home. In the 2019-21 WTC, they began the cycle with an away tour to Australia, while in 2021-23 they began the Championship with a tour of the West Indies. In the previous 2023-25 cycle, Pakistan started their campaign with a tour of Sri Lanka.

In head-to-head encounters, Pakistan have played 30 Test matches against South Africa, winning six, while South Africa have been victorious on 17 occasions and seven matches have ended in a draw. In 13 Test matches (nine in Pakistan and four in the UAE) between the two teams, Pakistan have won four, South Africa three, while six Tests have ended in draws.

In World Test Championship matches, both sides have played four Tests, winning two each. South Africa last toured Pakistan for two Tests in January–February 2021, which the hosts won 2-0. For Pakistan in the WTC against South Africa, Babar Azam has scored 315 runs in four Tests, including four half-centuries, while Mohammad Rizwan has scored 283 runs in four Tests, including a century.

In the bowling department, Hasan Ali has taken 12 wickets in two ICC World Test Championship matches against South Africa. All three players are part of the 16-member squad for the forthcoming Test series.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood, talking to PCB Digital ahead of the Test series said:

“The main goal for any team is always to win the championship, but I think for us it’s about starting off well, and we have got the perfect opposition, the team that won the last Test Championship. To play against them in our home conditions is a great opportunity for us.

“Any challenge in the Test Championship is always going to test you, but for us, it allows us to measure ourselves against the best teams in the world. Hopefully, if we can put in a good performance, we will know that we are right up there and in the reckoning.

“It’s very important, I think, if you look at the teams that have played the final and won the championship, they have always done well in their home Test matches. Again, for us, it’s about finding that blueprint at home and it’s very important to start off well at home.”

South Africa captain Aiden Markram said: “It’s an exciting start to the new cycle. It’s great to be in Pakistan and I am really looking forward to it. It’s going to be a challenging but fun series, so it’s great to be here and we are all eager to get started.

“You win Test matches and Test series by being good in all facets of the game, so it’s going to be a unique challenge for us coming from South African conditions to Pakistani conditions a challenge our players are looking forward to. We will assess things early, see how the wicket plays and come up with some good plans.”

Pakistan 16-member squad: Shan Masood (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir (wicket-keeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afrid

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