Pakistan punish South Africa to reach 259-5 in second Test

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Oct 20 (AFP): Pakistan punished poor catching from South Africa to accumulate 259-5 on the opening day of the second and final Test in Rawalpindi on Monday.

Had the tourists not dropped five catches on a turning pitch they would have been in a better position after Pakistan won the toss and batted.

Skipper Shan Masood, dropped on 71 off a luckless Keshav Maharaj, top-scored with 87 while Abdullah Shafique -- dropped four times -- made 57.

Saud Shakeel and Salman Agha will resume on Tuesday unbeaten on 42 and 10 respectively, with the home team seeking a 2-0 series win against the world Test champions.

South African pacer Kagiso Rabada trapped Mohammad Rizwan with the fifth delivery with the second new ball for 19 to give some respite to his team.

Maharaj, who missed the first Test in Lahore through injury, took 2-63 and fellow spinner Simon Harmer 2-75.

With the bulk of the bowling done by Maharaj and Harmer, spinner Senuran Muthusamy -- who took 11 wickets in the first Test -- was surprisingly used for just four overs.

The final session also saw Masood fall to an uppish sweep off Maharaj, caught by Marco Jansen, after hitting two fours and three sixes in his innings.