Pakistan Playing 11 vs South Africa - 2nd Test, Pakistan Tour of South Africa 2024-25

Pakistan will be keen to end their tour of South Africa on a winning note when they lock horns against the hosts in the second and final Test of the ongoing series. The second SA vs PAK Test will be played at the Newlands, Cape Town from Friday (January 3, 2025).

The defeat ended Pak's slim chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship final and they will now be looking to win the upcoming game to end the tour on a good note. After losing the T20I series, Pakistan bounced back in style and clean swept the three-match ODI series.

They will now be eyeing a similar performance in the second Test as well. In the first Test, Pak had nearly stunned South Africa but eventually lost the thrilling game by 2 wickets.

Defending 147 runs, Pakistan had reduced South Africa to 19/3 and then 99 for 8. With South Africa still needing close to 50 runs, the visitors were the favorites to win the Test. However, they failed to break the partnership between Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada.

The duo shared an unbeaten 51-run stand to take their team home. Earlier in the game, the visitors scored 211 and 237 runs in their two innings. On the other hand, South Africa scored 301 runs in their first innings.

With the visitors now looking to bounce back and clinch a series-leveling victory, we are taking a look at Pakistan Playing 11 for the second Test.

Pakistan Playing 11 vs South Africa - 2nd Test, Pakistan Tour of South Africa 2024-25:

Openers: Shan Masood (c), Saim Ayub

Captain Shan Masood and Saim Ayub are expected to be the openers in the Playing 11 for the upcoming game against South Africa. Both the players got the starts in the first game but failed to convert them into big scores.

In the first innings, Masood scored 17 runs while Ayub scored 14. Masood scored 28 runs while Ayub scored 27 runs in the 2nd innings. They will be keen to give their team a better start in the second Test.

Middle-order batsmen and allrounders: Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal

Former captain Babar Azam failed to get going in the first innings, scoring only 4 runs. However, he did well in the second innings. In testing conditions, Babar played a crucial knock of 50 runs that helped Pakistan post a competitive total.

Kamran Ghulam once again impressed with the bat. He was the visitors' top scorer in the first innings. Ghulam scored 54 runs and was the only visiting batter to score a fifty. However, he could not impress in the second innings and was out for just 4.

After scoring 14 runs in the first innings, Saud Shakeel top-scored for his side in the second innings, playing a crucial knock of 84 runs. Mohammad Rizwan scored 27 runs in the first innings before being dismissed for 3 runs in the second innings.

Salman Agha could not do well with the bat in either of the two innings. He scored 18 in the first innings and 1 in the second. However, the right-handed batsman is expected to retain his spot in the Pakistan Playing 11.

Aamer Jamal played useful cameos in both the innings, scoring 28 and 18. With the ball, he picked up 2 wickets in the first innings.

Bowlers: Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas

The visitors are expected to have three frontline pacers in the Playing 11 for the second Test. Naseem Shah and Khurram Shahzad picked up 4 wickets each in the first Test. Both the pacers picked up 3 wickets each in the first innings before taking one more wicket in the second innings.

On the other hand, Mohammad Abbas claimed a solitary wicket in the first innings before taking 6 wickets in the second innings which put Pakistan on the verge of a famous win.