Pakistan captain Babar Azam looms as the major batting threat for the Proteas but the visitors will do well to keep an eye on wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan in the two-match Test series.
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Babar no doubt will be the hot topic when Proteas coaches Mark Boucher and Charl Langeveldt have team meetings with the bowlers but Rizwan’s name should not be far from the conversation.
The gloveman made his Test debut as a specialist batsman against New Zealand all the way back in 2016 but did not really get going in the longest format until he dislodged former skipper Sarfraz Ahmed from behind the stumps in November 2019.
Rizwan is highly regarded by the Pakistan management and was named as Babar’s vice-captain ahead of the tour to New Zealand late last year even though he had only played nine Tests.
He has shown that he has the ability to score runs when his team were in tough positions, his six half-centuries to date have all come in Australia, England and New Zealand.
Rizwan has also walked to the crease having to do a massive repair job after Pakistan’s top-order had failed miserably with each of his six half-centuries coming when the team needed them most, walking to the crease with the totals on 94-5, 120-5, 75-5, 52-5, 75-4 and 83-4.
The last three milestone knocks came on the most recent tour to New Zealand when an injury to Babar meant Pakistan were without their best batsman and Rizwan was given the captaincy.
While he does not yet have a hundred to his credit in Test cricket, a glance at Rizwan’s first-class record shows that he can indeed bat for long periods of time especially in home conditions.
The keeper-batsman has 10 centuries in red-ball cricket with a highest-score of 224 while he also boasts individual scores 176 and 154 not out to his name.
The head-to-head battle between Rizwan and Proteas skipper Quinton de Kock will be a fascinating and one of the keys to determining who holds the trophy at the end of the Test series.
So, while Kagiso Rabada and the rest of the Proteas bowling attack will be plotting and planning against the experienced pair of Babar and Azhar Ali, the tourists’ brains trust will do well to remember that Pakistan’s batting only ends once Rizwan is dismissed.
Photo: AAP Image/Dave Hunt
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