South Africa will be eyeing a clean sweep when they lock horns against Pakistan in the second and final Test of the ongoing match. series. The match is scheduled to be played from Friday (January 3) at Newlands, Cape Town.
The victory helped the South African team create history as they booked their place in the World Test Championship final for the first time. Set a target of 148 runs for a place in the WTC final, South Africa got off to a disastrous start. They shook off 3/19 at the start of the chase.
Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma then stopped the rot for a while before the hosts suffered another collapse and were reduced to 99/8. The match looked done and dusted for the hosts at that stage before Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada shared an unbeaten 51-run stand to take their side over the finish line.
With South Africa now looking at another win, we take a look at the South Africa Playing 11 for the SA vs PAK second test.
South Africa Playing 11 vs Pakistan – 2nd Test, Pakistan Tour of South Africa 2024-25:
Openers: Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram
Tony de Zorzi and Aiden Markram look to be the frontrunners for South Africa, playing 11 for the second Test. While de Zorzi is expected to retain his place in the team, he will be keen to bounce back and come up with a good batting display after failing twice in the first test.
The southpaw scored 2 runs in each of the two innings as he failed to give his team a good start. On the other hand, Markram had a good game. The South African star impressed in both halves and was named man of the match for his crucial strikes.
He top-scored in the first innings, scoring 89 before playing a crucial knock of 37 in the second innings. With form on his side, Markram will be eyeing another good outing in the next Test.
Middle order batsmen and allrounders: Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma (c), Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch
Ryan Rickelton will be desperate to do well in the next test after failing to impress in the first test. The left-handed batsman failed to start in both innings, scoring 8 and 0. However, he is expected to retain his place in the South Africa Playing 11.
Tristan Stubbs also had a game to forget. In both innings, the Proteas star failed to do well with the bat and was dismissed for 9 and 1.
In-form Temba Bavuma was able to lead his side up front again as he made useful contributions with the bat in both innings. In the first innings, the South African skipper scored 31 runs before scoring 40 runs in the second innings. He was South Africa's top scorer in the second half.
South Africa are likely to make a change in their playing 11. Wiaan Mulder, who missed the first Test through injury, could replace David Bedingham in the South Africa Playing 11 for the second Test. Bedingham has not scored a fifty in the last 6 innings and could be dropped from the team.
Kyle Verreynne is set to be the team's goaltender and will look to make good after scoring 2 runs in each of the two innings. Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch expected to be the two main all-rounders in South Africa's Playing 11.
Bosch impressed on his debut, taking 4 wickets in the first innings before scoring an unbeaten 81. On the other hand, Jansen took 6 wickets in the second innings before scoring an unbeaten 16.
Bowlers: Peace Wednesday, Dane Paterson
Kagiso Rabada and Dan Paterson are likely to be the two front-line pacers in South Africa playing 11. Paterson took 5 wickets in the first innings and 1 wicket in the second. On the other hand, Rabada took 2 wickets in the game in addition to playing a match winning 31 runs.