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Pakistan vs South Africa | 1st Test | Lahore | October 12-16 | Pre-Match Discussion

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It will be fun thing to watch Sajid doing his usual celebration. Been missing that for a long time now... Sajid and Noman duo will wreak havoc again.

I want to see this playing 11, though.

Imam
shan
Babar
Saud
Kamran
Salman
RIz
Sajid
Noman
Shaheen
Khurram
 
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Smith in tests is leagues > Lara, Sobers and Sachin.

His avg is higher and his country by country record against top teams is better this too in a bowling era and the fact that he hasnt faced many minnows.

Sachin avg falls to 51 if you remove his horrific stat pads vs Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Regardless thats besides the point, Steve Smith is an outlier. Outliers will always exist in cricket.
Don't agree with you, Smith is a 4th innings choker with zero hundreds. He has failed everytime in the 4th innings, can't be compared to these legends.
 
If Abdullah plays ahead of Imam here, then I want this team captain and selectors to get sacked asap...

Poultry farm should not play ahead of Imam with the type of form he is in.
 
Yes. For me Sajids energy and fight gets him on the ODI team. The sort of character that can lift those around him
 
Yes. For me Sajids energy and fight gets him on the ODI team. The sort of character that can lift those around him
Tbh love sajid energy he is a fighter who plays for pakistan he wants to win every game which pakistan needs.
 
read somewhere today Lahore is going to see only 65-70 overs per day due to bad light / smog ... how likely is this ?
 
read somewhere today Lahore is going to see only 65-70 overs per day due to bad light / smog ... how likely is this ?
No it's still summer in lahore there is literally no chance of smog yet but bad light might come into play but with spin pitches it won't matter.
 
TALK ABOUT THE PAKISTAN VS. SOUTH AFRICA MATCH HERE NOW

TAKE SMITH VS TENDULKAR CHAT SOMEWHERE ELSE
 
AS PER REPORTS:

Aamir Jamal and Faisal Akram have been released from Pakistan’s Test squad ahead of the two-match home series against South Africa, reducing the squad from 18 to 16 players.

Faisal was one of the uncapped players initially named, but now only Asif Afridi and Rohail Nazir remain uncapped in the squad.
 
Why are they starting a test match on Sunday. Ideally it should start on Friday so that you can attract maximum crowd.
 
Why are they starting a test match on Sunday. Ideally it should start on Friday so that you can attract maximum crowd.
There is no crowd for test matches in Pakistan. Doesn't matter when you start it.
 
So it is going to be square turners in this two test matches. This kind of wickets give opportunity for visiting teams too, India under Virat & Rohit won every home series on such surfaces from 2015 until they got beaten by New Zealand last year.
 
Faisal akram might have benefitted from nets with big boys, but playing qet is right decision
 
South Africa’s stand-in captain Aiden Markram acknowledged the spin challenge in the upcoming two-match away Test series against Pakistan:

"I suppose you create a bit of a target on your back if you’ve won (the WTC), and if that’s the case, it’s fair. We want to chase a place in the final again and lift that trophy once again but realise each team will be coming for us,"

"We, as a team, have to keep getting better and improving and playing well in all different types of conditions. It starts for us in Pakistan, and it’s a challenge the boys will be up for,"

"There were a couple of nets prepared where the spin is really exaggerated, and you’d rather err on that side, and maybe then it’s a bit easier when we get to Pakistan,"

"We’re expecting to face a lot of spin over there, and it’s also, naturally, a lot lower there from a seam point of view. There’s a lot of skiddy, so it’s hard to try and emulate that here in South Africa, but we’ve been looking to put a lot of emphasis on finding a way to train for that."
 
WTC champions should not be taken for granted just because we are preparing spin heaven. Pakistan has to work hard, especially in the batting department which has always been the talking point
 
The last time i see crowd in a test series in Pakistan was back in 2005 against England. After that no one is interested in test cricket in Pakistan despite having a wailey awaam
 
My favourite format is test cricket but I'm not sure if I am hyped for this? Doctored pitches kinda ruins it for me
 
Hope to see another dry, spin pitch like those prepared against Eng

The WI series ones were too spin friendly, but the Eng series ones were perfect and suited the team a lot

Looking forward to Sunday morning!
 
The last time i see crowd in a test series in Pakistan was back in 2005 against England. After that no one is interested in test cricket in Pakistan despite having a wailey awaam
PCB doesn't care much for Tests anymore, evident by how many two match test series we are playing.
 
PCB doesn't care much for Tests anymore, evident by how many two match test series we are playing.
The wtc schedule from 2025-2027 was announced months back.

It outright stated the match count for each team.

Aus: 22 test games
Bangladesh: 12
England: 21
India: 18
NZ: 16
Pakistan: 13
SA: 14
Sri Lanka: 12
WI: 14

I think they made it clear that this schedule would not change.

Anyway the good news is that considering WI got drubbed 3-0 by Aus and will get drubbed 2-0 by India, they are effectively eliminated from WTC.

So 1 down ig.
 
For WTC aus has a head start. WI 3-0 drubbing and they'll likely drub Bangladesh 2-0 at home as well.

All will depend on Ashes whether or not Aus qualifies for the final or not. Not sure if Australia can beat India at home, but if they manage to win, India is out of wtc race as well.
 
For WTC aus has a head start. WI 3-0 drubbing and they'll likely drub Bangladesh 2-0 at home as well.

All will depend on Ashes whether or not Aus qualifies for the final or not. Not sure if Australia can beat India at home, but if they manage to win, India is out of wtc race as well.
Pakistan is likely not going to qualify. Highly highly doubt they'll beat England even once. Lot will depend on rain and quadrat ki nizam
 
Imran Farhat is a batting coach of national team are you serious ?
 
Only hope is that PK wins the toss 2x and bats first 2x. Then they'll go 2-0 up vs SA
 
For WTC aus has a head start. WI 3-0 drubbing and they'll likely drub Bangladesh 2-0 at home as well.

All will depend on Ashes whether or not Aus qualifies for the final or not. Not sure if Australia can beat India at home, but if they manage to win, India is out of wtc race as well.

WTC final should be Australia vs South Africa.
 
WTC final should be Australia vs South Africa.
It'll either be Aus vs India or Aus vs Eng final. No 2 ways about it.

SA has a nightmarish time for WTC this time around. Facing india at home, facing PK on doctored pitches which toss dependant, Facing Aus granted they play aus at home, Facing england etc etc.

Aus even if they get drubbed by India has multiple easy wins vs NZ, Bangladesh at home coming up. It'll depend on Ashes.

If they drub England then Aus is through in which case England faces a very very steep challenge on having to win all their games to qualify and NZ + SA will be an obstacles.

India put themselves in a very favourable position by avoiding a drubbing vs England and managing to draw the series.

The worst of Wtc is behind India now and its pretty smooth sailing from here unless Aus causes a surprise party
 
Fans can enjoy both Test matches in Lahore and Rawalpindi absolutely free entry open for General, Premium, First Class, and VIP enclosures

Expecting a decent crowd
 
It'll either be Aus vs India or Aus vs Eng final. No 2 ways about it.

SA has a nightmarish time for WTC this time around. Facing india at home, facing PK on doctored pitches which toss dependant, Facing Aus granted they play aus at home, Facing england etc etc.

Aus even if they get drubbed by India has multiple easy wins vs NZ, Bangladesh at home coming up. It'll depend on Ashes.

If they drub England then Aus is through in which case England faces a very very steep challenge on having to win all their games to qualify and NZ + SA will be an obstacles.

India put themselves in a very favourable position by avoiding a drubbing vs England and managing to draw the series.

The worst of Wtc is behind India now and its pretty smooth sailing from here unless Aus causes a surprise party

England couldn't even win against India at home.

I don't think it will be England.

SA, AUS, IND - they have better chances.
 
England couldn't even win against India at home.

I don't think it will be England.

SA, AUS, IND - they have better chances.
England isn't a bad test team from a batting perspective. They have the best test batting lineup in the world by far.

The issue is

A) Crawley sucks and hence they always play one batsmen short as a result

B) Their bowling is non existent. The batting while strong will obviously struggle against good test bowling lineups as any team would and the bowling just cant carry them.

Lastly even though they are the best test batting team, the gap isnt that high. India and Australia and SA aren't that far behind in batting man power.

Its not like classic Australia or classic wi where it was clear their batting is 2nd to none.

It's why I don't see them beating Australia. The strategy of chasing 300-380 in the 4th innings can only get you so far. Won't always work
 
So it is going to be square turners in this two test matches. This kind of wickets give opportunity for visiting teams too, India under Virat & Rohit won every home series on such surfaces from 2015 until they got beaten by New Zealand last year.
Actually few tests that lost by India happened on such turners. Remember Okeefe picking 15 or 16 wickets. Then kunemann, murphy running through us in another game. India wins when there is only slight turn. Not massive turn.
 
Actually few tests that lost by India happened on such turners. Remember Okeefe picking 15 or 16 wickets. Then kunemann, murphy running through us in another game. India wins when there is only slight turn. Not massive turn.
And ejaz patel
 
BGT 2017 wasn’t played on turning tracks, they were natural Indian tracks. Same goes for Eng 16 and Nz 16
India seems to be ditching spin wickets. Or atleast curating pace wickets.

Wi series were green tops and supported pace. Its just wi batting is doo doo.

They might go for pace to challenge themselves vs Aus moving forward
 
WTC champions should not be taken for granted just because we are preparing spin heaven. Pakistan has to work hard, especially in the batting department which has always been the talking point
Soon heaven means south Africa will have a genuine chance if they win the toss
 
Soon heaven means south Africa will have a genuine chance if they win the toss
Not really you still have to score runs batting first against sajid and noman which is going to be extremely hard for south africa either way they are screwed
 
India seems to be ditching spin wickets. Or atleast curating pace wickets.

Wi series were green tops and supported pace. Its just wi batting is doo doo.

They might go for pace to challenge themselves vs Aus moving forward
No Australia will have to face the spin music as they dished out seaming wickets when we toured last year.
 
Honestly I'm not excited for this series.

Idkw people dont talk about Pakistan playing an outdated brand of test cricket? I believe the biggest advocate on this forumn for t20 and odi cricket is @Rana Who has written essays upon essays providing deep diversity insight as to why T20 cricket was outdated.

But not sure if any poster has talked about test?

We live in a world where Ben Duckett is an opener in test, Travis Head and Brook at solid no 5 and even Steve smith + Joe root have upped their SR in test. Each side is looking to tonk 400-500 in the first innings now adays?

Yet Pakistan is opting for a batting lineup of

1) Imam
2) Abdullah
3) Shan
4) Babar
5) Saud
6) Rizwan
7) Agha

^^ This is 1970's test lineup lol and that too of a minnow team 🤣.

The only aggressive batters are Shan and Kamran ghulam but Ghulam is sitting out for Babar and Shan isn't talented enough to perform.

No clue why pcb never opted for fakhar at no 5 in test and refuse to bring Farhan to open, they've played FC before and fakhar has a double century in fc too?
 
Honestly I'm not excited for this series.

Idkw people dont talk about Pakistan playing an outdated brand of test cricket? I believe the biggest advocate on this forumn for t20 and odi cricket is @Rana Who has written essays upon essays providing deep diversity insight as to why T20 cricket was outdated.

But not sure if any poster has talked about test?

We live in a world where Ben Duckett is an opener in test, Travis Head and Brook at solid no 5 and even Steve smith + Joe root have upped their SR in test. Each side is looking to tonk 400-500 in the first innings now adays?

Yet Pakistan is opting for a batting lineup of

1) Imam
2) Abdullah
3) Shan
4) Babar
5) Saud
6) Rizwan
7) Agha

^^ This is 1970's test lineup lol and that too of a minnow team 🤣.

The only aggressive batters are Shan and Kamran ghulam but Ghulam is sitting out for Babar and Shan isn't talented enough to perform.

No clue why pcb never opted for fakhar at no 5 in test and refuse to bring Farhan to open, they've played FC before and fakhar has a double century in fc too?
Difficult to get excited for a 2 match series anyway. And no wonder fans of the team that finished last in the previous WTC are finding it hard to get excited for the start of a new cycle.

Completely see your point though on other teams experimenting using more agressive or attack minded cricketers in tests. We are so far from that.

My targets for this WTC are just to win the home series against every opposition.
 
Difficult to get excited for a 2 match series anyway. And no wonder fans of the team that finished last in the previous WTC are finding it hard to get excited for the start of a new cycle.

Completely see your point though on other teams experimenting using more agressive or attack minded cricketers in tests. We are so far from that.

My targets for this WTC are just to win the home series against every opposition.
Playing aggressive isnt always the solution in test cricket but it is on certain tracks.

First and foremost every team batting first has the priority of reaching 400-500 1st innings runs. Whether they get their or not is a seprate matter but reaching the 400-500 mark means that 90% of the time you have won or its a draw.

How are you supposed to reach 400-500 with a batting lineup that literally will take 3.5 days to get their and we all know no one is logically capable of consistently batting for 3.5 days lol.

Secondly even if the goal isnt to reach 400-500, batting in england, or certain aussie dens like Perth, its 100% a requirement to play quickly
 
Difficult to get excited for a 2 match series anyway. And no wonder fans of the team that finished last in the previous WTC are finding it hard to get excited for the start of a new cycle.

Completely see your point though on other teams experimenting using more agressive or attack minded cricketers in tests. We are so far from that.

My targets for this WTC are just to win the home series against every opposition.
You guys ever happy it was the blunder of ramiz and babar by preparing those road pitches otherwise pakistan was in contention to play wtc final had it been spin pitches back then but now aqib got it right with spin tracks that's the only way to win series vs sena teams yes pakistan will loose which is fine but you have to take a chance a risk with rank turners and with nomam and sajid i am confident they will not let any team win easily at home that's for sure.
 
Not really you still have to score runs batting first against sajid and noman which is going to be extremely hard for south africa either way they are screwed
West Indies were able to beat Pakistan when they won the toss. Such pitches are a lottery
 
And we lost that Test match. India should never prepare heavy spin oriented tracks. Unlike Pakistani pitches, where the ball holds in the pitch and comes on slower, it fizzes through in India and turns at high speeds off the wicket.

We should prepare good, flat wickets that offer some turn just like the England series in 2024
Pakistan uses kookaburra not SG
 
India seems to be ditching spin wickets. Or atleast curating pace wickets.

Wi series were green tops and supported pace. Its just wi batting is doo doo.

They might go for pace to challenge themselves vs Aus moving forward
They want to avoid New Zealand 2.0 at all costs now. The scar of spin is too fresh
 
You guys ever happy it was the blunder of ramiz and babar by preparing those road pitches otherwise pakistan was in contention to play wtc final had it been spin pitches back then but now aqib got it right with spin tracks that's the only way to win series vs sena teams yes pakistan will loose which is fine but you have to take a chance a risk with rank turners and with nomam and sajid i am confident they will not let any team win easily at home that's for sure.
Making spin tracks vs sena opponents is the way to go. But not lottery pitches where matches finish before entering day 4. Some balance hopefully..
 
Playing aggressive isnt always the solution in test cricket but it is on certain tracks.

First and foremost every team batting first has the priority of reaching 400-500 1st innings runs. Whether they get their or not is a seprate matter but reaching the 400-500 mark means that 90% of the time you have won or its a draw.

How are you supposed to reach 400-500 with a batting lineup that literally will take 3.5 days to get their and we all know no one is logically capable of consistently batting for 3.5 days lol.

Secondly even if the goal isnt to reach 400-500, batting in england, or certain aussie dens like Perth, its 100% a requirement to play quickly
I think pak would take 2.5 days not 3.5 days to score 450 runs but get your point man we are becoming irrelevant in test cricket so fast. No team is going to fear visiting pak for the right reason lol
 
Start of the english speaking season now with lots of 'taking the game forward' pressers from Shan. He needs to be worries about his poultry farm though.

Looking forward to the series its always fun playing SA.
 
The NZ series was weird because it felt like they tried every type of pitch in that series (seaming, black-soil, red-soil) and still lost all 3 matches. Also felt like they were underestimating NZ's ability to play spin and overestimating their ability to play spin. But yes I agree with you and I think Sri Lanka and Pakistan should also produce similar wickets because that allows their batsmen to score runs some runs more easily and gives them an edge in the bowling too because of their spin-heavy bowling attacks.

India are obviously a cut above but are still a side in the rebuilding phase and nowhere near the level of the 2015-16 team under Kohli. And even those guys started declining against spin not long after that.

The seaming pitch was not intentional. It was raining overnight here in Bangalore and the pitch was covered.

I think the values for seam, bounce and pace for that pitch in the first 2 sessions was similar to Perth or something, according to guys who were analysing the Hawkeye.

Rohit foolishly chose to bat first on a covered pitch and we got our backsides handed to us. Once it flattened out and started like a typical Bangalore pitch, we were already far behind in the match.


I think the kind of spin needed on Indian pitches is slightly different from PAK/SL.

On PAK and SL turners, slow spin (75-85 kph) seems to work very well .

On Indian pitches with SG ball, you have to bowl quicker (88-95) and our successful spinners have been tall/quick as well(Kumble, Ashwin, Axar, Washington) and they drive the ball into the pitch to make things happen.

I remember in 2020/21 when ENG got hammered here , even that nightmarish Ahmedabad track did not turn as much as the pitches they played on in Sri Lanka in terms of degrees of turn where Embuldeniya was turning it square


Embuldeniya average turn:

Day 2 - 4.8°

Day 3 - 6.0°


But it was jumping off the track or keeping low depending on whether it was the seam or the shiny side hitting the pitch.

So, while Root was able to either play back or get in front and sweep Embuldeniya on a rank turner , he struggled on our pitches .
 
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I think pak would take 2.5 days not 3.5 days to score 450 runs but get your point man we are becoming irrelevant in test cricket so fast. No team is going to fear visiting pak for the right reason lol
They took 3.5 days to score 400 and still badly lost to England when England smacked 500 on day 1 against them.

The only reason Pakistan managed to score 400 to 500 runs quickly vs Eng and SA is cause Shan managed to kick off.

Shan is a crap batsmen but credit where credit is due, he does play extremely quickly in test and scores runs at a rapid rate on the once in a blue moon occasion he kicks off
 
They took 3.5 days to score 400 and still badly lost to England when England smacked 500 on day 1 against them.

The only reason Pakistan managed to score 400 to 500 runs quickly vs Eng and SA is cause Shan managed to kick off.

Shan is a crap batsmen but credit where credit is due, he does play extremely quickly in test and scores runs at a rapid rate on the once in a blue moon occasion he kicks off
Bro shan and crawley average about same and somehow shan has played better knocks than crawley still remember the chase masterclass he had with younis khan in sri lanka so shan batting is aggressive he wants to take on bowling which is absolutely gold in these lottery turning pitches where any ball can have your name on it so quick fire innings from shan will be pure gold here and match winning.
 
I think SA could give PCT tough time if likes of Markaram step up. Don't know how their bowling will fare in absence of maharaj
 
Bro shan and crawley average about same and somehow shan has played better knocks than crawley still remember the chase masterclass he had with younis khan in sri lanka so shan batting is aggressive he wants to take on bowling which is absolutely gold in these lottery turning pitches where any ball can have your name on it so quick fire innings from shan will be pure gold here and match winning.
Crawley ashes series puts him >>>>>> Shan
 
No way we are praising shan here... he is crap. Cannot be making fool of most of the fans who really saw his batting... He is a domestic bully only... Once in a blue moon performance is not the standard here...
 
No way we are praising shan here... he is crap. Cannot be making fool of most of the fans who really saw his batting... He is a domestic bully only... Once in a blue moon performance is not the standard here...
Who's praising Shan. Kis nei shan ko dawa di hoi hai janab?
 
LOL... I don't even wanna tlak about him... A captain with a below mediocre record. Contacts made him captain only. His performance is zero
That's everywhere on this planet. Your network is your networth. Although tbf sports is the one field it should be kept out of as it causes alot of damage.

Credit to Australia and India for ensuring networking isn't a problem in cricket.
 
I actually want Babar to score a century this time around tbf. He gets too much hate post 2022.

I would want Bobby to get his 1st international century since Nepal 2023.

Issue is I don't see that happening. Spin galore pitches won't allow it.
 
Pakistan vs South Africa Test Series

The Pakistan team held a training session at Gaddafi Stadium ahead of the upcoming Test series.

The national squad participated in a rigorous three-hour practice session, during which coaches conducted various drills.

Following the warm-up, players engaged in intensive batting, bowling, and fielding exercises.

The first Test match between South Africa and Pakistan will be played at Gaddafi Stadium starting on October 12.
 
Pakistan vs South Africa Test Series

The Pakistan team held a training session at Gaddafi Stadium ahead of the upcoming Test series.

The national squad participated in a rigorous three-hour practice session, during which coaches conducted various drills.

Following the warm-up, players engaged in intensive batting, bowling, and fielding exercises.

The first Test match between South Africa and Pakistan will be played at Gaddafi Stadium starting on October 12.

View attachment WhatsApp Video 2025-10-09 at 14.43.01_131c0158.mp4
 
I think whoever bat first are likely to win.

I am guessing there would be turning pitches. So, batting in 4th innings should be difficult.
 
There are reports in media pakistan will play 3 spinners sajid nomam and abrar or asif afridi so pitch will be be pure rank turner
Really cant understand the role of 3rd specialist spinner if you already have salman agha as part time spinner.
Prepare rank turners but why not play 2 fast bowlers so that they get proper test matches and can be utilized well in non-asian spin conditions. Now if you play on non-spin pitches, you dont have a good second fast bowler
 
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