South Africa out to end six years of subcontinental struggles

Overview:

Pakistan v South Africa, second Test
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
Thursday, 4 February to Monday, 8 February; 10am local time.

Quinton de Kock’s team sunk to aseven-wicket defeat in the first Testin Karachi, failing to make the most of several opportunities to take control of the match.

The South Africans cannot afford to be so loose in Rawalpindi or they could be waiting a while longer for their first win in Asia since mid-2014, when tons from Dean Elgar and JP Duminy and a nine-wicket match haul from Dale Steyn helped them to a 153-run win.

Elgar, Faf du Plessis and de Kock are the only members of the current squad that played in that match, while de Kock was still four months away from making his Test debut the last time South Africa beat Pakistan in Asia.

The three veterans of the batting order will need to step up if South Africa are going to end a six-year stretch with no Test victories in Asia.

It’s a result that would immediately lift the pressure off new skipper Babar Azam, who captained the Test team for the first time in the series opener. It would also maintain their 100 per cent series record in Pakistan since Test cricket returned to the nation in 2019.

Players to look out for:

**Babar Azam:**Given the honour of captaining his country for the first time in Test cricket in the last match, Azam had a sub-par outing by his own standards, posting scores of 7 and 30. In fairness to the 26-year-old, he was playing his first match since injuring his thumb in the nets in December last year. Nevertheless, he’ll be looking to leave his mark on his first Test series as captain and you would be brave to tip against him.

The right-hander averages 110.5 in Tests in Pakistan, with three centuries from four matches. He has barely put a foot wrong anywhere since the start of 2019 (991 runs at 61.93) and there was enough in his second-innings 30 in Karachi to suggest a big performance is not too far away.

Aiden Markram: Across his first 10 Tests, Aiden Markram averaged 55.55 but his form dipped after that first 12 months as an international cricketer. Across 13 Tests since mid-2018, he has averaged 26.95, with four scores above 50 and none passing 100.

It’s a slide that coincided with his first tour of the subcontinent, in which he made just 40 runs across four innings in Sri Lanka. Things weren’t much better next time he came to Asia, averaging 11 in India where he fell for ducks in two of his four innings.

It would be fitting for Markram to reaffirm himself as one of cricket’s brightest young stars by dominating in Asian conditions in the second Test against Pakistan. Encouragingly for South Africa, Markram notched his first 50+ Test score on the continent in their second innings in Karachi, making a patient 74 off 304. He’ll be hoping to truly cash in at Rawalpindi if he gets himself set.

Remember the last time:

The South Africans were left to rue several lapses in the first Test, letting Pakistan off the hook with bat and ball more than once.

Having won the toss, South Africa were in a solid enough position at 108/2 only to lose their final eight wickets for 112 to be all out for 220 as the veteran trio of du Plessis, Elgar and de Kock all fell in a 10-over window.

They bounced back with the ball to have Pakistan in trouble at 27/4, only for the hosts to rally to make 378 and claim a 158-run first-innings lead.

The South Africans looked set to make a real game of it as they marched to 175/1 in their second innings, erasing the deficit with plenty of wickets in hand. Instead, they were undone by another flurry of wickets and were bowled out for 245, setting Pakistan a target of 88 to win.

A calm 31 not out from Azhar Ali and a dashing 30 from Azam ensured the hosts got the job done. On the flipside to South Africa letting the game slip repeatedly, Pakistan took every opportunity presented to them – something perfectly embodied by Nauman Ali and Fawad Alam.

Having had to wait until he was 34 to play his first Test for Pakistan, it was left-arm finger-spinner Nauman who led the charge with the ball in South Africa’s second innings, claiming figures of 5/35 as veteran teammate Yasir Shah (4/79) ran riot from the other end.

With the bat, it was Fawad who breathed life into Pakistan’s first innings. Playing Test cricket on home soil for the first time, after going nearly 11 years without a Test after being dropped from the team in 2009, the uniquely styled left-hander scored 109.

He put on key stands with Azhar (51) and Faheem Ashraf (64) to take the hosts from in trouble to in control. Fittingly, he was the man to hit the winning runs in the chase.

What they said:

Pakistan captain, Babar Azam: "We have been telling the players to be confident. I don't want them to take pressure after one innings wondering what will happen. You cannot be perfect. You will make mistakes... We want the players to believe in themselves and have confidence in their game."

**South Africa captain, Quinton de Kock: "**Our record in the sub-continent is not the greatest, but we have won a couple of series. It is just a matter of finding a way to win."