South Africa 82 for 3 at the end of the first day of play in the Centurion Test

South Africa 82 for 3 at the end of the first day of play in the Centurion Test

(Asghar Ali Mubarak)…

.In the first match of the two-Test series, hosts South Africa scored 82 for 3 in response to Pakistan’s 211 runs, while a further 129 runs remain in deficit.

On the Boxing Day Test match being played in Centurion, Proteas captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and invited the visiting team Pakistan to bat first. For South Africa, Aiden Markram is not out on 47 and captain Temba Bavuma is on 4 runs while Tony de Zorzi is out for 2, Ryan Rickelton for 8 and Tristan Stubbs for 9 runs. Khurram Shahzad took 2 and Mohammad Abbas took one wicket.

In the first innings, the national team was bowled out for 211 runs. Kamran Ghulam was the top scorer for Pakistan with 54 runs, while the top order failed miserably and no player could perform well. Babar Azam, who made a comeback, was also dismissed for only 4 runs.

Saim Ayub and captain Shan Masood opened the innings for the national team. Young batsman Saim Ayub, who had performed brilliantly in ODIs and T20s, returned to the pavilion after scoring 14 runs and captain Shan Masood returned to the pavilion after scoring 17 runs.

After that, Babar Azam, who made a comeback, could not significantly increase the score and returned to the pavilion after scoring 4 runs. Vice-captain Saud Shakeel could not stay at the crease for long and was caught by the wicketkeeper after scoring 14 runs with the help of 3 fours.

After 4 players were dismissed for 56 runs in the 18th over, Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Rizwan took the innings forward. Kamran Ghulam scored a half-century, he was dismissed for 54 and Mohammad Rizwan for 27 runs.

After this, wickets continued to fall at intervals and the entire team was dismissed for only 211 runs in the first innings after the tea break. For South Africa, Dean Pietersen took 5 and Corbin Bosc, who made his Test debut, took 4 wickets.

Earlier, the Pakistan team decided to go with 4 fast bowlers considering the Centurion wicket. Babar Azam, who was dropped in the last two Tests against England, has also returned, while Abdullah Shafiq, who has consistently failed in the ODI series, also failed to make it to the playing eleven.

Apart from this, fast bowler Mohammad Abbas has also made a comeback to the national team after three years. Saim Ayub and Shan Masood will open for Pakistan, while Babar Azam and Kamran Ghulam will come to bat at number three and number four.

Both teams for the match consist of these players.

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Amir Jamal, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Abbas

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Aiden Markram, Tony Ze Zorzi, Ryan Rickleton, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Vereeniging (wicketkeeper), Marco Johnson, Kagiso Rabada, Dean Pietersen, Corbin Bush