South Africa and Pakistan are ready to clash in the first Test of the three-match series in Centurion starting Wednesday. The home side will enter the contest as the firm favourite, with a great record against the opposition in this format, especially while playing at home.
The Proteas are coming into this series after a lengthy break in international cricket and the players busy in playing the inaugural edition of the Mzansi Super League (MSL), therefore, their patience will be put to test against a team who have played five Tests in last two months against Australia and New Zealand. In the batting department, the home team will be depending on the likes of captain Faf du Plessis, Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock to score bulk of the runs. It will be interesting to see how veteran Hashim Amla will perform in this series as he looked rusty and out of touch after returning from a lengthy injury layoff in the MSL. In the bowling department, the onus will be once again on the pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn and Duanne Olivier to do bulk of the damage, whereas they will be accompanied by left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj.
On the other hand, the visitors will be depending on the likes of veteran duo of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq to lead from the front in the batting department and score bulk of the runs, whereas in the bowling department, the onus will be on the likes
South Africa and Pakistan are ready to clash in the first Test of the three-match series in Centurion starting Wednesday. The home side will enter the contest as the firm favourite, with a great record against the opposition in this format, especially while playing at home.
The Proteas are coming into this series after a lengthy break in international cricket and the players busy in playing the inaugural edition of the Mzansi Super League (MSL), therefore, their patience will be put to test against a team who have played five Tests in last two months against Australia and New Zealand. In the batting department, the home team will be depending on the likes of captain Faf du Plessis, Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock to score bulk of the runs. It will be interesting to see how veteran Hashim Amla will perform in this series as he looked rusty and out of touch after returning from a lengthy injury layoff in the MSL. In the bowling department, the onus will be once again on the pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn and Duanne Olivier to do bulk of the damage, whereas they will be accompanied by left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj.
On the other hand, the visitors will be depending on the likes of veteran duo of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq to lead from the front in the batting department and score bulk of the runs, whereas in the bowling department, the onus will be on the likes of Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali and Yasir Shah to provide timely breakthroughs. Both teams have already faced off in 23 Tests, where the Proteas have a far better record with 12 wins, whereas Pakistan have only won four games.
Highest team score in those contests of 620-7 was registered by South Africa in Cape Town in January 2003. Highest individual score of 278 by a South African batsman in those contests was registered by AB de Villiers, whereas the highest individual score by a Pakistani batsman of 146 was registered by Khurram Manzoor.
This will be the 23rd Test to be played at the venue, where the highest team score of 620-4 was registered by the home side in the match against India in 2010-11. Highest individual score in a Test innings of 208 in Centurion was registered by Hashim Amla, whereas best bowling figures in an innings of 7-29 was registered by Kyle Abbot against Pakistan in 2012-13.
Key Players:
Kagiso Rabada – 9 Cr
First in the list of key players features South Africa's Kagiso Rabada. The right-armer is rated as one of the best in the five-day format and can become even more lethal in conditions which are favourable for fast-bowling. Therefore, Rabada, who is valued at 9 Cr, is the player to have in your team, especially considering Pakistan's batting problems against top-quality fast-bowling. Rabada has represented South Africa in 32 Tests, where he has 151 wickets to his name at an outstanding average of 21.71.
Babar Azam – 9 Cr
Second in the list of key players features Pakistan's Babar Azam. The right-hander had a great 2018 in the five-day format where he averages more than 60 with the bat. Not only that, Azam started the South Africa tour in great style as well as he scored a brilliant century in the team's only practice match. Therefore, Azam, who is valued at 9 Cr, might prove to be a good purchase for your team.
Aiden Markram – 8.5 Cr
Last in the list of key players features South Africa's Aiden Markram. The right-hander is in great form with the bat and was one of the top performers in the recently concluded MSL. Therefore, Markram, who is valued at 8.5 Cr, might prove to be a real trump card for your team in the match starting from Wednesday. Markram has represented the Proteas in 12 Tests, scoring 1,040 runs at an average of 47.27 with the help of four hundreds and three fifties.
