Pakistan will face South Africa In the second of the two-match Test series. This article provides details about the playing 11 of South Africa vs Pakistan for the second match of the series.
South Africa Playing XI vs Pakistan – 2nd Test, South Africa tour of Pakistan 2025
Openers: Aiden Markram (captain), Ryan Rickelton
After suffering a defeat in the opening match of the two-match series against Pakistan, South Africa will be looking to bounce back in the second Test starting on Monday (October 20).
The Proteas will be boosted by the return of experienced spinner Keshav Maharaj, who was not a part of the last match and will join the squad for this special match.
It is expected that Maharaj will be directly included in the playing eleven in place of Subrayan, while the rest of the team will remain the same.
South Africa will be pleased with the way the batsmen showed resilience, especially in the first innings, and the Pakistanis had to work hard to take their wickets.
In particular, players like Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram and Tony De Zorzi played with great maturity and will look to repeat the same effort in the upcoming match.
As far as the batting department is concerned, the only concern for the team will be the form of captain Aiden Markram and new number three Wiaan Mulder.
While Markram has time and again shown what he is capable of with the bat and will back himself to do well 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.
Amidst Markram’s poor form, the South Africa team management is hopeful that his opening partner Rickelton will once again perform well with the bat and both will maintain their shine with the ball.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Wiaan Mulder, Tony De Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brewis, Kyle Verreynne (wicketkeeper)
The opening pair will be followed by the middle order, who despite Pakistan’s lack of experience playing the longest format of the game, was able to produce its best performance in the first Test.
The captain would like players like Tony De Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs to perform more in the first and second innings of the match respectively.
While Tony De Zorzi, who would not have got a place in the playing eleven if regular captain Temba Bavuma was available, scored a century in challenging conditions in the first innings, Stubbs counter-attacked in the chase to complete a half-century.
The visiting team will also expect significant contributions from the lower order batsmen, as happened in the last match.
Bowlers: Simon Harmer, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada
Like the batsmen, South Africa will be satisfied with the way the team’s bowling performed in both the innings.
The spin bowling trio of Simon Harmer, Senuran Muthusamy and Prenelan Subreyan kept the opposition at a draw and in doing so did not allow the game to progress.
Kagiso Rabada controlled the team’s fast bowling and did his job by keeping the ball tight from one end.
The Proteas will hope that their bowling attack, which will be strengthened by the addition of Keshav Maharaj, continues to perform well in the final Test.
