Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn would be missed in the 2nd Test

4078 days ago

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Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn would be missed in the 2nd Test

South Africa will not be able to field their best XI, with their best batsman and only centurion from Abu Dhabi, Hashim Amla, flying home for the birth of his child. Dale Steyn has fitness concerns too, and though he wasn’t at his best in Abu Dhabi, his participation remains critical.

South Africa
1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Dean Elgar, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 JP Duminy, 7 Faf du Plessis, 8 Robin Peterson/Imran Tahir, 9 Vernon Philander, 10 Dale Steyn/Rory Kleinveldt, 11 Morne Morkel

Pakistan:
1 Shan Masood, 2 Khurram Manzoor, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Adnan Akmal (wk), 8 Saeed Ajmal, 9 Zulfiqar Babar, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Mohammad Irfan

Should South Africa lose, they will still retain their No.1 ranking but it will narrow the gap between them and England. Pakistan will finish the series at No. 4 irrespective of what happens in Dubai. A draw is enough to seal the series, 1-1 will also improve their ranking, but 2-0 will extinguish the demons of Zimbabwe.