da 888： South Africa have already booked their place in the World Test Championship final, but will be looking to keep their impressive record against Pakistan intact
da poker： Danyal Rasool02-Jan-2025Big pictureThe attempt to give this Test series context may ironically have stripped some from this Test match, especially as far as South Africa are concerned. The hosts have already qualified for the World Test Championship final after beating Pakistan by two wickets in Centurion, and as such, don’t necessarily have a bigger picture to play for. However, they have won eight consecutive Test matches at home against Pakistan, and never not won a home series against them since the turn of the century, and in that bilateral context, there remains plenty to play for.In the days since South Africa qualified, there has been some attention towards the perceived softer nature of their draw en route to the World Test Championship, one that their coach Shukri Conrad made “no apologies” for. But with no Test cricket between this Test and the WTC final, South Africa will want to storm into the final in style, and extend a winning run that already stretches to six games.Pakistan’s WTC hopes had long ago gone up in smoke, but they need to break out of a habit of letting slip winning positions, a habit in this particular cycle. As a result, they have now lost seven of the last nine Tests, and all of the last eight in South Africa. Centurion was the closest they came to breaking that hoodoo, at one stage two wickets away from a stunning win with South Africa still 49 runs away from victory. But, as has been the case with Pakistan too often, they struggled to finish off the tail with the ball, and watched another one slide through their fingers.Newlands arguably plays slightly more to their strengths, lacking the express pace South Africa possess. It is a surface that both captains expect to take a bit more spin than Centurion, and should revert back to its natural characteristics after a freak Test last year against India that ended in a day and a half. Both sides are expected to field a spinner, while Pakistan’s seam and swing bowlers may find more joy, especially in the early stages of the Test before the surface flattens out. With just two Test wins in South Africa across three decades of playing here, a victory here – and a drawn series – will go down as their most impressive away Test series result in years.Related
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Form guide (last five completed matches, most recent first)South Africa: WWWWWPakistan: LWWLLIn the spotlightWith spin likely to play a more significant role at Newlands than it did in Centurion, Keshav Maharaj returns to the side. But for all of Newlands supposed accommodation for slower bowling, the left-arm orthodox spinner has a surprisingly indifferent record in Cape Town, managing just 9 wickets in 6 matches at an average in excess of 52. That’s almost double his average of 30.44 in South Africa in general, and Maharaj is returning from an adductor strain that ruled him out of the ODI series. Whether he can begin to turn his Newlands record around may be an intriguing plot point as the Test develops.It’s not a vintage age for openers in Test cricket, and particularly not Pakistani openers. Until the final Test, they hadn’t produced a partnership over 15 all year, but offered faint glimpses of turning that around with the new pairing of Saim Ayub and Shan Masood, putting up 36 and 49. But neither opener managed to kick on in either innings, something Masood brought up as a point of frustration in Centurion. Against the kind of world-class new ball bowling attack South Africa possess at home, runs for the first wicket are not exactly easy, but Pakistan desperately need them all the same.Pakistan let another game slip through their fingers, during the first Test•AFP/Getty Images
Team newsSouth Africa have rung the changes after the first Test, with Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder and debutant fast bowler Kwena Maphaka coming into the side. Opener Tony de Zorzi has a thigh strain, while fast bowling allrounder Corbin Bosch and Dane Paterson also drop to the bench.South Africa: Ryan Rickleton 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Wiaan Mulder (capt), 4 Tristan Stubbs 5 Temba Bavuma (capt) 6 David Bedingham, 7 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Keshav Maharaj 10 Kagiso Rabada 11 Kwena MaphakaPakistan have not yet named an eleven, unsure about playing Noman Ali or simply making do with Salman Ali Agha as lead spinner.Pakistan: 1 Shan Masood (capt) 2 Saim Ayub 3 Babar Azam 4 Kamran Ghulam 5 Saud Shakeel 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk) 7 Salman Ali Agha 8 Aamer Jamal/Noman Ali 9 Naseem Shah 10 Mohammad Abbas 11 Khurram ShahzadPitch and conditions”I don’t think I’m allowed to speak about the wicket,” Temba Bavuma joked during the press conference following the ultra-short Test here last year. There’s less grass on it than Centurion, though, with spin coming into it later in the Test.Stats and trivia Keshav Maharaj is seven wickets away from becoming the first South African spinner to take 200 Test wickets. Among current batters in the Pakistan side, none have truly imperious records in South Africa. Babar Azam’s 275 at 34.37 makes him the most prolific, while no active Pakistani has a hundred in this country.Quotes”The series is still on the line. So, as much as we’ve ticked off that box of being in the final, we’d still like to be clinical in the series. We’re eyeing two nil. Our focus, our motivation is still there. I think also as a team, as much as we won last week, we accept that we weren’t at our best, betting and bowling. So, in terms of improving in those areas, we’d like to see ourselves being a lot better than we were last week.”
South African captain Temba Bavuma feels there’s still plenty to improve from his side
