Herschelle Gibbs fell two runs short of an 11th Test hundred as South Africa struggled on the first day of the second Test against Pakistan on Friday.

Gibbs was trapped leg before by leg spinner Mushtaq Ahmed after a chanceless innings, having faced 219 balls and hit 13 fours and a six during his four-and-a-half-hour stay, as the South Africans closed on 256 for nine.

The touring side, already one down in the two-Test series, had fought back from 40 for three only to lose five wickets, including that of Gibbs, during the final session.

The tall, lanky Shabbir Ahmed led the Pakistan attack in the absence of strike bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami.

He rattled the top order with the wickets of Graeme Smith and Boeta Dippenaar and finished with four for 63. All-rounder Abdul Razzaq took the wickets of Gary Kirsten and Mark Boucher.

Gibbs was the one batsman to stand out, rebuilding the innings cautiously during a 108-run stand for the fourth wicket with Kirsten, who made 54.

But Gibbs's dismissal saw South Africa crumble after reaching 195 for 4.

It was a disappointing end to a fine innings as he refused to allow the bowlers to dictate on a pitch with encouraging bounce and plenty of turn.

The left-handed Kirsten, meanwhile, has now accumulated 828 runs on the sub-continent in 10 Tests against India and Pakistan.

The second new ball, taken after 83.4 overs, paid immediate dividends as Razzaq struck with the second ball by removing Boucher for 27 (27 balls, 5 fours).

Leg spinner Danish Kaneria, who had taken seven wickets in the first Test, again impressed, although he only claimed one wicket, that of Jacques Kallis.

Kaneria bowled unchanged for 15 overs after lunch, conceding just 17 runs. He finished with one for 63 from 32 overs while the 33-year-old Mushtaq suffered by comparison, taking one for 48 in 13 overs.

Scoreboard

South Africa (1st innings):
Graeme Smith c Inzamam b Shabbir 2
Herschelle Gibbs lbw Mushtaq 98
Boeta Dippenaar c Taufeeq b Shabbir 4
Jacques Kallis c Taufeeq b Kaneria 10
Gary Kirsten c Taufeeq b Razzaq 54
Neil McKenzie c Mushtaq b Shabbir 27
Mark Boucher b Razzaq 27
Shaun Pollock run out 16
Robin Peterson c (sub) Misbah b Shabbir 4
Paul Adams not out 3
Makhaya Ntini not out 5

Extras: (lb-1, w-1, 4-nb) 6

Total: (for 9 wkts, 91 overs) 256

Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-20 3-40 4-148 5-195 6-212 7-236 8-247 9-250.

Bowling: Shabbir Ahmed 22-7-63-4 (1-w), Abdul Razzaq 19-4-62-2 (4-nb), Danish Kaneria 32-10-63-1, Shoaib Malik 5-0-19-0, Mushtaq Ahmed 13-1-48-1.

Pakistan: Taufeeq Umar, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Asim Kamal, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Moin Khan, Mushtaq Ahmed, Shabbir Ahmed, Danish Kaneria.

Umpires: Daryl Harper (Australia) and Simon Taufel (Australia).