Boucher enters record book, Pak avoids follow on

Karachi:

South Africa's Mark Boucher broke the world record for wicketkeeping dismissals on Wednesday as Pakistan avoided the follow-on on the third day of the first cricket Test.

Boucher's stumping of Umar Gul was his 396th dismissal (378 catches, 18 stumpings) in his 103rd Test match, surpassing Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy's tally of 395 dismissals (366 catches, 29 stumpings) in Test cricket.

Captain Shoaib Malik hit a fighting 73 to top score before Pakistan was bowled out for 291 - 159 runs behind South Africa's first innings score of 450 runs - to end the second session.

Danish Kaneria (26 not out) and Mohammad Asif (10) added 32 runs for the last wicket before Dale Steyn wrapped up the innings (2-50).

Malik and fit-again Salman Butt (24) dug in for two hours in an 84-run seventh wicket partnership before both fell in the second session to left-arm spinner Paul Harris (5-73), who took five wickets in an innings for the first time.

Butt played a reckless cross-batted shot off his backfoot and was trapped lbw. Malik ran out of patience and was stumped after facing 170 balls in his three and a half hour knock.

Pakistan needed a further 13 runs to avoid the follow-on when Malik departed, but Kaneria and Gul took Pakistan past the follow-on total, and then Kaneria and Asif put up a strong resistance for more than an hour and even negotiated the second new ball.

Resuming at the overnight score of 127-5, Pakistan lost rookie Abdul Rehman (9) when paceman Andre Nel found the outside edge of the bat in the eighth over of the day before Malik and Butt combined.

Butt had recovered from abdominal pains that prevented him opening Pakistan's first innings Tuesday and forced him to hospital for around 11 hours.