South Africa will be up against Pakistan in the 2nd Test of their two-match series with the World Test Championship final online. Get our latest expert South Africa vs Pakistan match tips, predictions and picks below.
South Africa vs Pakistan 2nd Test Information
- Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
- Date: January 3-7
- Time: 10.30 am local (8.30 am GMT or 2 pm IST)
- How to Buy South Africa vs Pakistan 2nd Test Tickets? You can get all the information about this here.
What Have The Two Teams Done Recently?
South Africa
South Africa had sent, what many experts deemed, a C team for a two-match series in New Zealand and they were soundly beaten 2-0 by the hosts in that series.
Since then, however, they have played six Tests spread across three series and won five of them with one game ending in a draw.
This includes a 2-0 drubbing of Sri Lanka at home.
And they came into this series with a lot hanging on the results with a win ensuring a place in the WTC final – and in a closely-fought encounter that’s exactly how things went.
Pakistan
Following their defeat in the first game of the series, Pakistan now have an overall win-loss record of 150-146. They had their chances in that game but in the end, South Africa came through to win by two wickets.
They entered this series following a 2-1 home win over England. That victory came after England had grabbed the opening game of the series before the hosts made a stupendous comeback.
That victory, incidentally, had also come on the back of six straight losses in Tests including a 2-0 whitewash at the hands of Bangladesh.
The last Test Pakistan won outside Asia was in Kingston in 2021 against West Indies.
South Africa vs Pakistan Head-to-Head Stats
- Overall South Africa vs Pakistan Test Head-to-Head: There have been 29 previous Tests played between these two sides and South Africa lead 16-6 on head-to-head.
- In South Africa, the hosts are 13-2 ahead with only one other Test ending in a draw.
- Their last series in this country had come in 2018-19 and South Africa had won that 3-0.
South Africa vs Pakistan 2nd Test Preview & Predictions with Latest Odds*
The opening Test showed the two teams in question in an interesting light.
South Africa was the favourite but for long stretches in the game faced a doughty showing from the tourists. In fact, at 99/8 chasing 148, they looked down and out.
They went on to win via a 51-run stand for the ninth wicket between Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada. Who would have thought?
On the other hand, Pakistan had had such a horrible year that for them to have come this far was a treat for their fans by itself.
They went toe to toe with South Africa and while they conceded the kind of lead that most teams would have found improbable to surmount, their bowlers found a way to keep coming back.
Mohammad Abbas’ six-fer in the second innings to go with an unchanged, 19.3 overs spell bore ample testimony to his impeccable line lengths and fitness, but also how the management had messed up by dropping him from the side.
Come the second Test, South Africa has no pressure on them now that they have already qualified for the WTC final and we can expect them to play even more freely. Expect them to widen the gap here.
South Africa vs Pakistan Match Winner
- South Africa to win: 4/7
South Africa vs Pakistan Top Batsman
- Top South Africa Batter – Aiden Markram: 9/2
- Top Pakistan Batter – Babar Azam: 9/2
South Africa vs Pakistan Top Bowler
- Top South Africa Bowler – Kagiso Rabada: 9/4
- Top Pakistan Bowler – Mohammad Abbas: 9/4
South Africa vs Pakistan Toss Prediction
- South Africa to win the toss: 10/11
South Africa vs Pakistan Other Predictions
- Team of Top Batter – South Africa: 4/7
*odds correct at the time of writing.
South Africa vs Pakistan Squads
South Africa Squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), Corbin Bosch, David Bedingham, Tony de Zorzi, Matthew Breetzke, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, Kwena Maphaka, Senuran Muthusamy, Wiaan Mulder, Kagiso Rabada, Dane Paterson, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne.
Pakistan Squad: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Abbas, Noman Ali, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha
How to Watch South Africa vs Pakistan 2nd Test Live?
The second Test between South Africa and Pakistan will be broadcast on Sports18 Network on television in India while if you are looking to watch the game live streamed online, you can tune in to the JioCinema website or app.
South Africa vs Pakistan Series Schedule
- 1st T20I: December 10 at Durban
- 2nd T20I: December 13 at Centurion
- 3rd T20I: December 14 at Johannesburg
- 1st ODI: December 17 at Paarl
- 2nd ODI: December 19 at Cape Town
- 3rd ODI: December 22 at Johannesburg
- 1st Test: December 26 at Centurion
- 2nd Test: January 3 at Cape Town
