Pakistan will face South Africa in the second of the two-match Test series. This article provides details of South Africa’s Playing 11 against Pakistan for the second match of the series.
South Africa Plays XI vs Pakistan – 2nd Test, South Africa Tour of Pakistan 2025
Opener: Aiden Markram (c), Ryan Rickelton
South Africa will look to bounce back after suffering a defeat in the opening match of the two-match series against Pakistan when they face them in the second Test scheduled to begin on Monday (October 20).
The Proteas will be delighted with the return of experienced spinner Keshav Maharaj, who was not part of the previous match and will join the team for this particular match.
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Maharaj is expected to be drafted straight into the playing XI in place of Subrayen, with the rest of the team remaining the same.
South Africa would be happy with the way the batters showed resilience, especially in the first innings, and made the Pakistanis work hard to get their wickets.
Players like Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram, as well as Tony de Zorzi, in particular, played with great maturity and would like to replicate the same effort in the next match.
The team’s only concern, as far as the batting department is concerned, would be the form of captain Aiden Markram and new number three Wiaan Mulder.
Although Markram has shown time and again what he is capable of with the bat and will strive to feature at the top of the order, Mulder will be under a bit of pressure as he has not made any notable contributions at number three.
Amid Markram’s lack of form, the South Africa team management will be hoping that his opening partner Rickelton once again has a good outing with the bat, and both shine with the ball.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Wiaan Mulder, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Kyle Verreynne (week)
The opening pair will be followed by a middle order who, despite lacking experience in the longest format of the game in Pakistan, was able to give their best in the first Test.
The captain would like Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs to do more of what they did in the first and second innings of the match respectively.
While Tony de Zorzi, who might not have found his place in the playing XI if regular captain Temba Bavuma was available, scored a century in difficult conditions in the first innings, Stubbs completed a counter-attacking half-century while chasing.
The visitors were also hoping that the lower-order batters would make a vital contribution, as was the case in the last match.
Bowlers: Simon Harmer, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada
Like the batting side, South Africa would also be happy with the way the team’s bowling has come through in the two innings.
The spin bowling trio of Simon Harmer, Senuran Muthusamy and Prenelan Subrayen restricted the opposition to a par total and did not let the game change in doing so.
The team’s fast bowling, led by Kagiso Rabada, also did its job in keeping things tight on one end.
Proteas will hope that the bowling attack, which will be strengthened by the addition of Keshav Maharaj, also continues its good work in the final Test.
