Pakistan vs South Africa – 1st Test Match Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Pakistan vs South Africa taking place? Tuesday, January 26th, 2021 – 05:00 (UK)
Where is Pakistan vs South Africa taking place? National Stadium, Karachi
What is the expected weather for Pakistan vs South Africa? 25-26c with sunshine forecast all five days
What channel is Pakistan vs South Africa on? The match will be televised live on Sky Sports Mix or Sky Sports Cricket (Sky channels 416 or 404)
Where can I stream Pakistan vs South Africa? The match can be streamed live via SkyGo
LAST MEETING
South Africa beat Pakistan by 107 runs
THE TEAM NEWS
PAKISTAN
- Pakistan have not won any of their last five Test matches and their most recent series came in New Zealand where they lost 2-0, but they will relish playing at home in Karachi given how little cricket they have been able to play in Pakistan over the last decade.
- They named a 20-man squad for the Test series but they have dropped Agha Salman, Abdullah Shafique and Kamran Ghulam from that list, while struggling opener Shan Masood was dropped after a series of poor performances.
- That means another new opening partnership with the bat as Abid Ali will likely be joined by Imran Butt at the top of the order but the rest of the team is expected to be experienced with skipper Babar Azam fit again after missing the New Zealand series due to injury.
SOUTH AFRICA
- South Africa’s form in Test matches was not great prior to the series with Sri Lanka at the turn of the year but they picked up a whitewash 2-0 victory over their injury-blighted opponents to give them a major boost in confidence coming into this trip to Pakistan.
- They have named a strong squad for this series with Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar and Faf du Plessis forming a strong and in-form top order while they can also count on Kagiso Rabada who missed the series with Sri Lanka and is fit again.
- South Africa have a good record against Pakistan having won their last four Test matches against them and with confidence high after the win over Sri Lanka, they will come into this opening Test with good belief they can do well once again.
THE PREDICTION
There is little to choose between Pakistan and South Africa as they come into this opening Test match. Pakistan are coming off a tough 2-0 loss in New Zealand while South Africa whitewashed Sri Lanka 2-0 on home turf but with this series in Pakistan, recent form could easily be reversed. In the bio-secure bubble in Karachi, the tourists may find conditions to be much tougher than they were at home. The form of the South African batsmen will give them confidence that they can compete here while the return of Babar Azam will give the hosts plenty of confidence too. The greater experience of the South African bowling attack and their edge in fielding could just swing it in their favour but this is a match that could easily go either way. Worth assessing the conditions and how it goes on the opening day rather than taking a position pre-match.
