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At a time when sport across the world has been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan, a team that has been forced to play at neutral venues for much of the last decade, is on the brink of a third, successive series win at home. After victories over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, they now have the opportunity to defeat a team ranked higher than them and will fancy their chances of doing so after a fairly complete performance in the first Test
Pakistan (probable): 1 Imran Butt, 2 Abid Ali, 3 Azhar Ali,4 Babar Azam (capt), 5 Fawad Alam, 6 Mohammed Rizwan (wk) 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Hasan Ali, 9 Nouman Ali, 10 Yasir Shah, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi
South Africa (possible): 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Faf du Plessis, 5 Quinton de Kock (capt, wk), 6 Temba Bavuma, 7 Wiaan Mulder, 8 Keshav Maharaj/George Linde, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Tabraiz Shamsi/Lungi Ngidi, 11 Anrich Nortje
South Africa's errors aside - and there were several - Pakistan did just about everything right in Karachi, from including Nauman Ali, to exploiting reverse swing and most importantly, adding depth to their batting line-up. There's improvement to be made at the top with the opening pair putting on just 5 and 22 but their lower-order made up for it, with tenacious displays against an increasingly frustrated South African team, whose woes have only grown.
In the lead up to this match, South Africa were hit with the news that they will not be playing the home Tests against Australia which means that this is the end of their Test season, which only had four matches. The opportunity to rebuild over several fixtures against different opposition in changing conditions is now gone and South Africa have to work with what little they have.
A win in Rawalpindi, where conditions are expected to suit them more, would show the resilience the team has so far lacked. Defeat, though, will not be disaster but simply a gauge for where they are as a Test squad. South Africa have already shown signs of addressing team balance, with the inclusion of allrounders, and of finding their best combination.
In World Test Championship terms, this is likely to be the last series these two teams play in the current tournament. The result of this Test won't alter their positions with Pakistan in fifth and South Africa sixth. Mid-table finishes, albeit in a cycle pockmarked with postponements are perhaps not quite where these teams would want to be but both are in stages of transition and the signs are that they will be well worth keeping an eye on when the next round starts.
Form guide
(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WLLDD
South Africa LWWLL
In the spotlight
Before Karachi, Babar Azam had only gone one Test in his last eight where he has not scored at least a half-century and, despite the extra responsibility of captaining Pakistan, he would have been disappointed with his returns of 7 and 30, more so because of how he was dismissed. Babar fell to South Africa's left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj in both innings, first attempting a cut shot to a ball that was too full and then defending down the wrong line to another that turned across him. The good news for Babar is that the series moves to a venue where his fortunes could turn. He has played two Test innings in Rawalpindi and scored hundreds in both of them.
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