The two-match Test series between South Africa (SA) and Pakistan (PAK) gets underway with the first game beginning on Thursday, December 26, at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. South Africa (SA) and Pakistan (PAK) will lock horns against each other in the first Test match of their two-match Test series on Thursday, December 26th, 2024, in SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium, Centurion, South Africa. The contest will get underway at 1:30 PM IST.
The first match of the two-Test series between South Africa and Pakistan will start on Thursday, December 26.The highly-anticipated game will be played at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. South Africa come into this series after being clean swept by Pakistan in the 50-over leg.
However, they clinched a convincing 2-0 Test series win against Sri Lanka at home earlier this month.
SA vs PAK : Previous Performances
The hosts South Africa are coming into this clash on the back of a disappointing clean sweep at the hands of the Men in Green in the 50-over leg. Meanwhile, in the longest format of the game, the Proteas last played a series earlier this month at home against Sri Lanka and registered a convincing 2-0 series victory.
This brilliant performance guided them to the top of the World Test Championship standings, surpassing Australia and India. The upcoming two home games against Pakistan are extremely important for the side. In fact, the Temba Bavuma-led side needs just one win out of the series to seal a spot in the WTC finale, which is set to be played at Lord’s in June 2025.
On the other hand, Pakistan is running high on confidence after their brilliant show in the white-ball format and looks forward to taking the same momentum in red-ball cricket. In their last series against England at home, the Shan Masood-led side recorded their first Test series win at home after a gap of three years.
Pakistan, who are no more in contention for the WTC final spot will look to dominate in this format before flying back home. The side doesn’t have that great of a record in the Rainbow Nation, having won just two matches and losing 12. In two Boxing Day Tests they have played so far in South Africa, they have suffered defeats on as many occasions.
SA vs PAK : Head to Head
As per ESPNCricinfo, the head-to-head record between South Africa and Pakistan reads 15-6 in favor of the former with seven draws. Pakistan’s record in South Africa hasn’t been great, having won just two and lost 12.Pakistan’s last Test win in the rainbow nation dates back to 2007.Meanwhile, the team suffered a 0-3 whitewash in their preceding Test assignment in SA, in 2018-19
| Matches | 28 |
| Won by South Africa | 15 |
| Won by Pakistan | 06 |
| Draw | 07 |
| No Result | 00 |
| First-ever Fixture | January 19-23, 1995 |
| Most-recent Fixture | February 04-08, 2021 |
SA vs PAK : Pitch Report
The surface of SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium is ideally known as one of the fastest pitches in South Africa; the pitch also assists the batters with the ball generally coming on to the bat. However, there is plenty of seam movement for pacers. The pitch changes its behavior during the fourth and fifth day of a test match. Scoring runs becomes a challenge for the batters then. The stadium has a quick outfield and can provide an intense competition between the bat and the ball.
Fast bowlers have consistently held sway at the SuperSport Park, Centurion, and it is anticipated that both teams will leverage the additional pace options in their bowling attacks during the Boxing Day Test. Nevertheless, as the ball ages, batters are also expected to accumulate substantial runs. The team winning the toss is likely to field first to maximize the benefit out of the conditions.
The pitch at SuperSport Park, Centurion, is known to assist fast bowlers. As the ball gets older, batters are also expected to score big runs. The team winning the toss would want to bowl first to reap maximum benefits from these conditions.
There has been significant rainfall on the Highveld in the lead-up to this Test match, which has made pitch preparation at SuperSport Park “difficult” in the words of one source. Two days out, the surface was fairly green which is in keeping with its reputation. Centurion is the most seamer-friendly wicket in the country, which also makes it the most difficult for batters.
While Bavuma said he has “never played on a flat Centurion wicket”, days two and three are usually good for run-scoring, but with overhead cloud batters will “know that your work is going to be cut out for you and you’re going to have to work hard for your runs.” The match may also be interrupted with thunderstorms forecast for the first morning and afternoon and the second and third afternoon.
SA vs PAK : Big Picture : Can Pakistan(PAK) bring ODI momentum into Test series or South Africa(SA) clinch the WTC final berth
There’s one other Boxing Day Test, but this one is big too. If South Africa win at SuperSport Park, they will guarantee a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. If Pakistan win, they will keep outside hopes (so outside that they also require an over-rate penalty for South Africa) of getting to Lord’s alive, but more pressingly they will keep a nation on edge for another week.
In reality, South Africa have some breathing room because they only need to win one of the next two Tests to get to the WTC final. Even with rain hanging around the Highveld, they’ll fancy their chances against a team that has not recorded a Test win in this country in nearly 18 years and not won a Test outside Asia since beating West Indies in August 2021. But pressure does strange things to players, especially South African players, and Pakistan, despite all the drama surrounding them, are a team who could exploit that.
They went through a rotating door of coaches, selectors and administrators before coming to South Africa and were already in the country when their Test coach resigned, two weeks before the start of the series.
Still, the build-up to this Boxing Day Test has had none of the shenanigans of Melbourne, mostly because the two sides were preoccupied with an ODI contest that serves as build-up to the Champions Trophy. Ten South Africa and seven Pakistan players from their respective Test squads were involved in that contest, which Pakistan won 3-0. If momentum is a factor, it is surely with them.
South Africa’s batting, in particular, was undone, and worryingly for them three of their top four (Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs) all fell to the offspin of Salman Agha in the first ODI. Conditions are unlikely to suit him at SuperSport Park but the mental scars might be there and Temba Bavuma hopes it will be simple to get over them. “Whether it’s easy, whether it’s hard, we’ve got to find a way to do it,” he said. “Whatever, I don’t know, trauma that was there, you know, guys will have to deal with it.”
Bavuma was also quick to remind that the Test space is different as it is where South Africa have more stability and focus with an immediate goal of the WTC final. The opposite might be said of Pakistan, who have won three ODI series in succession and are building towards a home Champions Trophy where they are defending the title.
That may mean the teams head into this match with slightly different priorities in terms of their current form but that won’t minimize the sense of the occasion. A Boxing Day Test with plenty at stake, taking place at the same time as another Boxing Day Test, with even more on the line. It doesn’t get bigger than this.
SA vs PAK : Vital Stats that matters
- Eight batters have scored Test centuries for South Africa in 2024. It’s their joint-most in a calendar year, and their most in 12 years. They have previously had eight centurions in 2004, 2008 and 2012.
- Pakistan have won two of the 15 Tests they’ve played in South Africa, none since 2007, and none of their three at SuperSport Park. Their two wins have come at St George’s Park and Kingsmead, the grounds that hosted the recent Sri Lanka series.
- Kagiso Rabada is three wickets away from going past Dale Steyn and becoming the leading wicket-taker at SuperSport Park. Rabada has played just eight Tests at the venue and has only taken fewer than five wickets here on one occasion, against India in 2018. He averages just over seven wickets per Test in Centurion.
- Since January 2018, there have been seven Tests at SuperSport Park and a clear advantage for seam bowlers. They have taken 227 wickets at 23.22 compared with 16 wickets at 60.62 by spinners.
SA vs PAK : Team News
South Africa :
South Africa is coming into this match with a stellar record, having recently whitewashed and won their previous series against Sri Lanka 2-0, and they are currently leaders of the WTC standings with 6 wins in 10 matches. This is a very important series in the context of WTC. A solitary win in the series would ensure South Africa’s berth in the upcoming WTC Final.
Temba Bavuma, the skipper, is in fine form with consistent contributions in recent matches. South Africa boasts a balanced batting lineup, including Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, and debut sensation Tristan Stubbs, who has shown promise with two centuries in his early career.
Both Keshav Maharaj (groin strain) and Wiaan Mulder (broken finger) passed fitness tests ahead of the match but are not deemed match-fit yet. South Africa have chosen to go in without a frontline spinner – and without spin-bowling allrounder Senuran Muthusamy – and opted for a 7-4 split. Corbin Bosch, who bowls above 140kph regularly, will debut at his home ground and share bowling duties with Kagiso Rabada, Dane Paterson and Marco Jansen. Ryan Rickelton has been retained at No.3 with Tristan Stubbs moving to No.4.
The hosts will take the field with an all-pace attack as they have confirmed their XI. Fast bowler Corbin Bosch will be making his debut in the upcoming match, replacing a few key pace bowlers who have been ruled out with injuries.
South Africa (confirmed XI): Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma (captain), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wicketkeeper), Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Dane Paterson.
Pakistan :
The Pakistan side is arriving in the red ball contest against the Proteas with their heads held high after a 3-0 series win in the ODI format. Pakistan won their previous Test series against England 2-1 in Pakistan; however, transitioning to Test cricket will be challenging, especially on South African pitches.
Captain Shan Masood and batting maestro Babar Azam will anchor the innings, while Saud Shakeel and Saim Ayub are expected to bring stability to the middle order. Pakistan’s bowling attack, spearheaded by Naseem Shah and Mohammad Abbas, has the potential to exploit South Africa’s conditions.
Pakistan could follow South Africa’s lead and go all-pace, which would mean no space for Noman Ali, though they would still have Salman Agha at their disposal. In the seam department, then, Abbas, Aamer Jamal and Khurram Shahzad are likely to partner the 21-year old attack leader, Naseem Shah.
Pakistan Probable Playing XI : Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (capt), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk.), Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Abbas
SA vs PAK Fantasy XI : Mohammad Rizwan, Ryan Rickelton, Babar Azam, Temba Bavuma, Shan Masood, Marco Jansen, Aamer Jamal, Agha Salman, Kagiso Rabada, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Abbas
SA vs PAK : Players in the Spotlight : Aiden Markram and Mohammad Abbas
Aiden Markram :
It feels like Aiden Markram has had a difficult time of it across formats this year but his main difficulties have come in the format he captains in. He only has one score over 30 from 18 T20Is in 2024, and one fifty from six ODIs hasn’t helped his cause either, but his Test form has shown signs of improving. After a century in the New Year’s Test, Markram made fifties in Providence and Gqeberha and is also someone Bavuma says he “leans a lot on” when it comes to tactics and inspiring younger players.
Most of all, Markram enjoys the continued support of his team-mates and Bavuma, in particular, who says he “empathizes” with what Markram is going through but “that’s what makes elite sport tough. You’ve got to find a way to go through those challenges. And generally, when you get over to the other side, that’s where the satisfaction is.”
Mohammad Abbas :
It’s now or never for Mohammad Abbas who, at 34, is set to make his comeback after three years out of the national side seemingly without explanation. Abbas played 25 Tests between April 2017 and August 2021 and took 90 wickets at 23.02, but was discarded in favour of younger quicks despite excellent numbers on the county circuit.
He has enjoyed four fruitful seasons at Hampshire where he has taken 180 wickets at 19.26 and finished among the top 10 wicket-takers in 2022 and 2023, and just outside in 2024. This season, he is the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and has deservedly earned a recall and will hope to make it count. Abbas is 10 wickets away from 100 in Test cricket and if he gets there, will be the 20th bowler from Pakistan to reach the landmark.
SA vs PAK : Match Prediction
South Africa are the clear favorites for the first Test against Pakistan at Centurion. The Proteas have a strong record at this venue, losing just one of their last ten games. In contrast, Pakistan have struggled on South African soil, with only two wins in 14 Tests and no series wins in the country. South Africa’s five-match winning streak and dominant home form make them tough to beat, while Pakistan’s hopes rest heavily on their fast bowlers delivering exceptional performances.