Big picture
The attempt to give this Test series context may ironically have stripped some from this Test match, especially as far as South Africa are concerned. The hosts have already qualified for the World Test Championship final after beating Pakistan by two wickets in Centurion, and as such, don’t necessarily have a bigger picture to play for. However, they have won eight consecutive Test matches at home against Pakistan, and never not won a home series against these opponents, and in that bilateral context, there remains plenty to play for.
In the days since South Africa qualified, there has been some attention towards the perceived softer nature of their draw en route to the World Test Championship, one that their coach Shukri Conrad made “no apologies” for. But with no Test cricket between this Test and the WTC final, South Africa will want to storm into the final in style, and extend a winning run that already stretches to six games.
Pakistan’s WTC hopes had long ago gone up in smoke, but they need to break out of a habit of letting slip winning positions, a habit in this particular cycle. As a result, they have now lost seven of the last nine Tests, and all of the last eight in South Africa. Centurion was the closest they came to breaking that hoodoo, at one stage two wickets away from a stunning win with South Africa still 49 runs away from victory. But, as has been the case with Pakistan too often, they struggled to finish off the tail with the ball, and watched another one slide through their fingers.
Form guide (last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa: WWWWW
Pakistan: LWWLL
In the spotlight
Team news
South Africa have rung the changes after the first Test, with Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder and debutant fast bowler Kwena Maphaka coming into the side. Opener Tony de Zorzi has a thigh strain, while fast bowling allrounder Corbin Bosch and Dane Paterson also drop to the bench.
South Africa: Ryan Rickleton 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Wiaan Mulder (capt), 4 Tristan Stubbs 5 Temba Bavuma (capt) 6 David Bedingham, 7 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Keshav Maharaj 10 Kagiso Rabada 11 Kwena Maphaka
Pakistan have not yet named an eleven, unsure about playing Noman Ali or simply making do with Salman Ali Agha as lead spinner.
Pakistan: 1 Shan Masood (capt) 2 Saim Ayub 3 Babar Azam 4 Kamran Ghulam 5 Saud Shakeel 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk) 7 Salman Ali Agha 8 Aamer Jamal/Noman Ali 9 Naseem Shah 10 Mohammad Abbas 11 Khurram Shahzad
Pitch and conditions
“I don’t think I’m allowed to speak about the wicket,” Temba Bavuma joked during the press conference following the ultra-short Test here last year. There’s less grass on it than Centurion, though, with spin coming into it later in the Test.
Stats and trivia
Quotes
“The series is still on the line. So, as much as we’ve ticked off that box of being in the final, we’d still like to be clinical in the series. We’re eyeing two nil. Our focus, our motivation is still there. I think also as a team, as much as we won last week, we accept that we weren’t at our best, betting and bowling. So, in terms of improving in those areas, we’d like to see ourselves being a lot better than we were last week.”
South African captain Temba Bavuma feels there’s still plenty to improve from his side
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
