After the historic 3-0 win in the ODI series, Pakistan She will be looking for a similar performance in the first Test of the two-match series against South Africa. The first Test will be played on Thursday (December 26) at SuperSport Park, Centurion.
Pakistan's confidence will skyrocket after the historic 3-0 win in the ODI series. The tour did not start well for Pakistan, as they lost the T20I series 2-0. However, they put up a stunning performance to clinch the ODI series by winning all the three matches.
The team led by Mohamed Rizwan started the ODI series with a three-wicket win. In the second game, the visitors recorded an 81-run win to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
In the third ODI, Pakistan beat South Africa by 36 runs (DLS method) to complete the whitewash. Ahead of the first Test, we look at the Pakistan 11 game.
Pakistan plays 11 matches against South Africa – 1st Test, Pakistan's tour of South Africa 2024-25
Editorials: Saem Ayoub, Abdullah Shafiq
Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafiq are set to be the openers in Playing 11. Both the openers have been very inconsistent in the recently concluded ODI series.
While Ayub finished the series against the Proteas as the top run-scorer, Shafiq could not even open his account in three matches.
Ayub scored two centuries and finished the series with 235 runs. He was also the only batsman to score a century in the series. With his good form on his side, he will look to have a good outing in the Test series as well.
On the other hand, Shafiq was sent off for a duck in all three matches. The low-pressure captain is strongly highlighted and will look to have success in the Tests.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Aamer Jamal
Captain Shan Masood will lead the attack with the bat in the middle order. This will be his first international match since the third Test against England in October this year. After leading the visiting team to victory over England, Masoud is looking forward to achieving more success against South Africa.
Babar Azam has not scored a Test century since 2022 and will be desperate to end the drought in the series. He's also looked in good shape lately. The former captain scored fifties in the last two ODIs against South Africa.
Just like Babar, Mohammad Rizwan has also looked in good form, scoring fifty runs in his last two ODIs.
He will look to make the most of the form in the Test series. Other players in the middle and lower order will be the likes of Agha Salman, Aamir Jamal and Saud Shakeel.
Salman impressed against South Africa in the ODIs while Jamal and Shakeel last played for the visitors during the home series against England.
Players: Muhammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali
The visitors are likely to play the Test with two front-line pacers and one spinner. Naseem Shah and Mohammad Abbas will be the captains of the team in the Pakistan Play-11 tournament.
Nauman Ali, who took 20 wickets in two Tests against England two months ago, is set to lead the spin department. The likes of Salman and Jamal are also useful bowling options.