The Proteas will take on Pakistan in the 2nd Test in unknown Rawalpindi conditions, writes Khalid Mohidin.
Reeling after a dominant defeat in the first match, the Proteas need to bounce back with conviction for their own confidence and for the sake of the fans.
But the conditions at Pindi will determine how they lineup and how they will perform against a Pakistan side with their tails up.
We all know how dangerous a confident Pakistan team will be, and South Africa will be a little wary of the threat they possess.
If Pakistan is smart they would have asked for dryer wickets, but the cooler weather conditions in Rawalpindi means that there naturally will be more moisture around, making it tough for the ground staff to alter the pitch drastically from the norm.
If they fail to produce a wicket that does not offer much turn, then the Proteas will have the upper hand, with both bat and ball.
This will set a platform for those Proteas batters who failed to score runs in the first Test, to redeem themselves – Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma.
The news around the ground has been that a significant amount of grass has been taken off the pitch.
“If you look at the history of this ground‚ you will probably say it’s more seamer-friendly and that’s what we have been reading and looking at in the past results as well‚” said Boucher.
“When we first got here three days ago‚ there was quite a bit of grass on the wicket. And when we got there [on Tuesday]‚ all that grass had been taken off and the surface looks to be very dry.”
Players to Watch:
All eyes will be on Quinton de Kock once again who has been receiving loads of scrutiny regarding his ability as captain and his batting position.
ALSO READ: DEBUNKING THE MYTH OF QUINTON DE KOCK’S BEST BATTING POSITION
A big score will silence critics and now that the Australia series has been cancelled, leaving fans with a good memory of him for some time, until CSA find out the Proteas’ next Test opponent.
If the pitch is as seamer-friendly, Anrich Nortje will be a scary opponent for Pakistan. His pace and aggression will be frightening to deal with, especially for a Pakistan batting lineup who don’t have height on their side, making it easier to pepper them with short deliveries.
They will need their main man Babar Azam to stamp his authority against the Proteas seam attack.
If the conditions are similar to Karachi, Tabraiz Shamsi will come into play, especially after Keshav Maharaj has been feeling some discomfort.
Pakistan will be more comfortable with what the Proteas can throw at them on a dryer pitch.
The intensity that the Proteas will play with, will all be determined by their lineup and the conditions. We will have to wait and see whether they will play with one or two spinners and wait for the pitch report.
Probable XI’s:
Proteas:
1 Dean Elgar
2 Aiden Markram
3 Rassie Van der Dussen
4 Faf du Plessis
5 Quinton de Kock
6 Temba Bavuma
7 Wiaan Mulder/ George Linde
8 Keshav Maharaj/Tabraiz Shamsi
9 Kagiso Rabada
10 Anrich Nortje
11 Lungi Ngidi
Pakistan:
1 Abid Ali
2 Imran Butt
3 Azhar Ali
4 Babar Azam(c)
5 Fawad Alam
6 Mohammad Rizwan(w)
7 Faheem Ashraf
8 Yasir Shah
9 Hasan Ali
10 Nauman Ali/Haris Rauf
11 Shaheen Afridi
