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Pakistan reach 259/5 at stumps on Day 1 of the second Test in their first innings against South Africa

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With a 93-run win in Lahore, Pakistan take a 1-0 lead into the second Test, brimming with confidence. Noman Ali’s ten-wicket haul, backed by Shaheen and Sajid’s incisive spells, exposed South Africa’s vulnerability against spin and reverse swing alike.

As the teams head into the second clash, all eyes are on whether Pakistan can carry the momentum and seal the series, or if
South Africa can regroup and hit back. Pitch conditions, team tweaks, and mental resilience will be key.

Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Salman Agha, Asif Afridi, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan (†), Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir (†), Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi

South Africa squad: Aiden Markram (c), David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton (†), Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen, Kyle Verreynne (†), Zubayr Hamza

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That can be a good option also.
Khurram's avantage is that he can pick New ball wickets.
new ball will stay relevant for only about 10 overs after that remaining 70 overs will be dominated by spinners so I think it would be a risky decision to go with two pacers.
 
If opposition bats first two pace bowlers are needed its not guaranteed that you will win the toss every time you must keep balanced attack on rank turner's two spinners are enough even salman agha looks unplayable he can be the third spinner
 
Jansen for Mulder & Keshav for Subra will be good . Would be very interesting if Saffers bat first .
Hassan out & Abrar in is what is desirable for hosts .
 
Did Ramiz just say we have not beaten SA 2-0 before? 2021 is not even that long ago man...

Asif Afridi is playing. Guess that means Hasan Ali is out.
 
Did Ramiz just say we have not beaten SA 2-0 before? 2021 is not even that long ago man...

Asif Afridi is playing. Guess that means Hasan Ali is out.
This ramiz is pure clown we have already beaten them in 2021 2 nil he got no idea no wonder why he wanted to make flat roads made pakistan loose
 
At least Shan's toss record is very impressive ...

He hasn't been that bad since his return. Alot of people judge him and rightfully so. Not claiming he is good, but gotta give credit where its due.

As of the last test, he now avg 38 since he became captain and avg 43 if you exclude the disastrous Aus series where only rizwan performed and the horrific WI series where no one performed due to lottery pitches.

Considering that fact that 90% of the time he comes in as an opener as Abdullah tends to depart in 1-4 overs, it isnt too bad.

People can blame the Bangladesh losses on him which i agree with,

But Overseas Aus, SA and trying to beat England on a flat track was always going to be a foregone conclusion.

Shan as a captain hasnt lost a single home series since Aqib intervened. Only wins or draws.

That includes Eng, SA and Wi so far.

@Aqib_mustafa
 
Pakistan win the toss and elect to bat first in series decider

Here are the playing XIs:

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Asif Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Senuran Muthusamy, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada
 
On winning the toss:

Shan Masood: A bit on the drier side but we don't know how it is going to play, so it's best to bat first. The toss doesn't decide everything, we have to still execute well. We have to take it session by session. Just one change - Asif Afridi makes his debut today.

Aiden Markram: We would have liked to bat first as well, we got a couple of lessons from the first innings in the previous game and we need to learn from them. We have got world-class spinners in our ranks and they would like to make the best use of conditions. Two changes for us - Jansen and Maharaj come in and unfortunately. Mulder and Subrayen miss out.
 
This pitch is ridiculous. If the ball is spinning like this on first session already it will be match over in 3 days.
 
Pakistan made good decision to give Asif debut as I predicted yesterday they would. Abrar can focus on his white ball bowling. Three spinners should prove handful for SA, and hopefully Sajid would had also be in better shape after his injuries and il health before the first match, and now has bowled somewhat to get his form ticking. Pakistan need 350 to dominate the match, Shan and Shafique showing good application so far.
 
Rabada utilises reverse swing superbly in South Africa but don’t know why he struggles to do so here in Pakistan or India. What’s the challenge really?
 
Rabada utilises reverse swing superbly in South Africa but don’t know why he struggles to do so here in Pakistan or India. What’s the challenge really?
Not sure. May be in South Africa there's enough pace and bounce in the pitch to engage outside edge as well.
Here the batsmen know only ones coming in are threatening so they are prepared.
In South Africa you can push the batsmen back too by targeting the body so the ones pitched up are more likely to cause trouble.

Basically the lengths and swing are predictable on slow surfaces.
 
Are you even watching it that ball huge nothing anyone can do there just hope it misses
Lol. I watched the entire over.
From the exact same length Imam negotiated two balls earlier in the over on front foot.
By going back he allowed the ball to spin.
If he had pushed forward he could have had it covered.
 
Imam is just a pathetic batsman with no natural ability
He is from a same league as Babar azam, just cannot score under pressure.
He can score centuries when there is no pressure. They are all covid period players. They use to perform in empty stadiums and when nothing on the stake
 
Lol. I watched the entire over.
From the exact same length Imam negotiated two balls earlier in the over on front foot.
By going back he allowed the ball to spin.
If he had pushed forward he could have had it covered.
yeah, Imam deserves blame for that dismissal rather than the bowler or the pitch.
 
So far this pitch doesn't look as threatening as the first one, Pakistan must make the first innings count.
 
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