2nd Test Day 1 Pak v SA

Stumps Day 1: Pak 253/5 Shafiq 111*, Ahmed 0* 

Tea report: All the fears over Pakistan's brittle batting seemed to have come to pass in the morning session as they lost four wickets cheaply before Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq showed there was some backbone in the batting by blunting South Africa's attack for an entire session on the first day in Cape Town.

In the morning, South Africa's ruthless pack of quick bowlers ran through the opposition top order yet again. It has become such a familiar theme that when Vernon Philander took his first wicket of the day, he barely bothered to celebrate, merely completing his follow-through as though the batsman had left the ball alone. Even wicketkeeper AB de Villiers didn't belt out an appeal or jump for joy after taking a regulation catch, merely tossing the ball aside and jogging up to Philander to congratulate him.

It was another reminder of how confident South Africa are, a confidence that derives from their No. 1 Test ranking, five successive series victories and a stunning 17-3 Test record in Cape Town since their return from isolation.

Once again, the fast bowlers had the ball hooping around, the purists ooh-ing and aah-ing over the late movement and the batsmen flailing cluelessly outside off. Midway through the session, Pakistan were down to 33 for 4, and any attempts to forget their record low of 49 all out in Johannesburg were pointless.

For the second Test in a row, South Africa captain Graeme Smith took the unconventional decision at the toss. After choosing to bat on a difficult track in Johannesburg, he opted to bowl on a Cape Town surface that was expected to ease out after the first hour. Towards lunch, it did settle down and the pair of Younis and Asad played with a measure of confidence but, as Smith hoped, serious damage had already been done.

Philander, who averages less than 13 at Newlands, started the procession with that celebration-free wicket of Nasir Jamshed, who flirted with one outside off without moving his feet. Dale Steyn joined in with his usual away-cutters, one of which Mohammad Hafeez nicked to first slip. Morne Morkel then had Azhar Ali wafting outside off, to give de Villiers another simple catch before he produced another of those patented rearing deliveries that Misbah-ul-Haq could only glove to short leg for a duck.

The last time South Africa played at Newlands, they shot out the opposition for 45. It wasn't as abject this time, as Younis managed to find some form, and even played a couple of fluent drives down the ground for four towards the end of the session.

After lunch, though South Africa couldn't break the partnership, they kept the pressure on in the first hour, with only 14 runs scored in 13 overs. Both Younis and Shafiq attempted several loose wafts to deliveries well outside off but they didn't edge any, and they grafted through the probing hour after the break.

It wasn't till the arrival of the one weak link in the South Africa attack, Robin Peterson, that the runs came by a little easier. Unlike his quicker colleagues, Peterson couldn't settle into a tidy line-and-length, allowing four boundaries in his first five overs to loosen the torniquet. He did produce the only chance of the session though, when Shafiq was put down at short leg by Dean Elgar, a difficult take as it came low and off the middle of the bat.

Younis was largely cautious, which made it a surprise when he reached his half-century with a powerful six, smacking Peterson over midwicket. Shafiq was generally more busy at the crease, even flamboyantly uppercutting Jacques Kallis behind point for four. In the final over of the session, Shafiq reached his half-century, his second in three innings on what has been a difficult tour for Pakistan's batsmen.

Stumps report: Pakistan cricket continues to confound. In the morning, South Africa's ruthless pack of quick bowlers ran through the opposition top order yet again and all the fears over Pakistan's brittle batting seemed to have come to pass. Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq, however, showed there was plenty of backbone in the batting by putting on Pakistan's biggest partnership in South Africa to even up the match on the first day in Cape Town.

Against the finest attack in the world, Younis enhanced his reputation of scoring runs when his team was in distress. The famous Younis smile was frequently on display, after particularly good deliveries - a Dale Steyn curler which beat him, a Morne Morkel bouncer which struck him on the body - and especially after completing his first Test hundred in a year.

Shafiq's century is likely to rank as the finest innings of his career so far. Initially, he wasn't in the best touch: there was a leading edge beyond mid-off, and there were several loose drives outside off which didn't connect, but he grew in confidence once the pitch started to lose its venom. After that he unveiled his strokes, uppercutting Jacques Kallis behind point for four and picking off the usually accurate Vernon Philander for two leg-side boundaries in an over.

What really allowed the Pakistan batsmen to break free was the introduction of the weak link in the South Africa attack, Robin Peterson. His job description, especially on day one, is to keep it tight while the quicks get a breather, but he couldn't quite play that role as he struggled to settle into a consistent line and length. There were far too many short balls early on and the pressure built up by the fast bowlers - who gave away only 14 runs in the first 12 overs after lunch - quickly evaporated as he gave away four boundaries in his first five overs.

Pakistan's most dominant phase came after tea, when South Africa were waiting for the second new ball. There wasn't much reverse swing on offer, and South Africa rotated Kallis, Peterson and Dean Elgar to keep their main bowlers fresh. Younis opened out, hitting a couple of straight sixes and Shafiq launched a flighted delivery well over long-on and then crashed one behind backward point as 62 runs came in the final 10 overs with the old ball.

Both batsmen reached their century just before the new ball, and Pakistan had moved along to 238 for 4 after 80 overs. Then came a critical phase of play as South Africa's attack reverted to menacing. Steyn and Philander bowled several unplayable deliveries; Philander had the ball buzzing past the outside edge and Hot Spot saved Younis against Steyn in the first over with the second new ball. It was Hot Spot that provided the evidence to end Younis' innings two overs before stumps, though, as South Africa reviewed an lbw decision, only to find that Younis had edged the ball through to the keeper.

South Africa were just as threatening in the morning. Slicing through the opposition has become so common to them that when Philander took his first wicket of the day, he barely bothered to celebrate, merely completing his follow-through as though the batsman had left the ball alone. Even wicketkeeper AB de Villiers didn't belt out an appeal or jump for joy after taking a regulation catch, merely tossing the ball aside and jogging up to Philander to congratulate him.

Once again, the fast bowlers had the ball hooping around, the purists ooh-ing and aah-ing over the late movement and the batsmen flailing outside off. Midway through the session, Pakistan were down to 33 for 4, and any attempts to forget their record low of 49 all out in Johannesburg were pointless.

For the second Test in a row, South Africa captain Graeme Smith took the unconventional decision at the toss. After choosing to bat on a difficult track in Johannesburg, he opted to bowl on a Cape Town surface that was expected to ease out after the first hour. Towards lunch, it did settle down but, as Smith hoped, serious damage had already been done.

Philander started the procession with that celebration-free wicket of Nasir Jamshed, who flirted with one outside off without moving his feet. Steyn joined in with his usual away-cutters, one of which Mohammad Hafeez nicked to first slip. Morkel then had Azhar Ali wafting outside off, to give de Villiers another simple catch before he produced another of those patented rearing deliveries that Misbah-ul-Haq could only glove to short leg for a duck.

It all seemed one-way traffic, before Younis and Shafiq led the recovery with centuries that gave South Africa's bowlers increasingly rare sessions of frustration.