South Africa and Pakistan will face each other in the second and final test of the ongoing SA vs PAK series from Friday (January 3, 2025). The match is scheduled to be played at Newlands, Cape Town.
The home team took the lead in the series following a thrilling 2-wicket win in the series opener in Centurion. The win also saw South Africa become the first team to book a place in the World Test Championship final.
Chasing 148 runs to win the game, South Africa were in deep trouble after being reduced to 19/3 and then 99/8. However, Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada held their nerve and came up with a brilliant unbeaten partnership of 51 runs to take their team across the finish line.
At the start of the game, Pakistan scored 211 runs in the first innings, Kamran Ghulam scored a fifty. For the home side, Dane Paterson took 5 wickets as a debutant Corbin Bosch took 4 wickets.
In reply, South Africa scored 301 runs to take a useful lead of 91 runs. Aiden Markram top scorer for the hosts, he scored 89, while Bosch remained unbeaten on 81. In the second innings, Pakistan scored 237 runs, Jansen taking 6 wickets.
SA vs PAK Prediction – Second Test, Pakistan Tour of South Africa 2024-25:
Key factors SA vs PAK
Field conditions
The ground for the second SA vs PAK Test will be highly concentrated because of what happened during the last Test played at this venue. The last Test played in Cape Town was between India and South Africa in January 2024.
It was a low-scoring game with most of the batsmen from both sides struggling to make an impact. The Pacers completely dominated the proceedings while the spinners did not bowl in the game. South Africa scored 55 and 176 runs in two innings while India scored 153 and 80/3 to win the game by 7 wickets.
The ICC later rated the pitch as “unsatisfactory” under the ICC Pitch and Ground Monitoring Process. While the conditions might improve a bit for the batsmen in the upcoming game, the bowlers are still expected to dominate the match.
Shape and fitness
South Africa had some injury problems ahead of the first Test. While both Wiaan Mulder and Keshav Maharaj were in the squad, they were not fully fit. Both players are still in the squad and likely to be available for the upcoming match. As far as Pakistan is concerned, there are no injury problems as of now.
Score prediction
| Team | the first half | 2nd half |
| on | 200-250 | 150-200 |
| PAK | 150-200 | 100-150 |
SA vs PAK players will make predictions
on – Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Corbin Bosch, Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada are the key players for South Africa.
PAK – Babar AzamSaim Ayub, Shan Masood, Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Abbas are the key players for Pakistan.
SA vs PAK Best Batsman Prediction
Who will score the most points for SA in the match: Temba Bavuma or Tristan Stubbs
Who will score the most points for PAK in the match: Saim Ayub or Kamran Ghulam
SA vs PAK Best player prediction
Who will pick the most wickets for SA in the match: Kagiso Rabada or Marco Jansen
Who will pick the most wickets for PAK in the match: Mohammad Abbas or Naseem Shah
Conclusion – Who will win the match?
South Africa will start the second Test against Pakistan as favorites and are expected to win the game.
The Proteas have never lost a Test against Pakistan in Cape Town and will be looking to maintain their unbeaten record. Pakistan, on the other hand, will have to come up with something special to stun the hosts.