South Africa reached 72 for three at lunch on the first day of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands on Friday, with opener Ryan Rickelton playing a solid hand, remaining unbeaten on 50 off 73 balls.
The left-hander struck seven boundaries in a fluent knock, and he will resume his innings after the break alongside captain Temba Bavuma, who has yet to face a delivery.
The pitch, which was used in last year’s record-breaking Test between South Africa and India, showed some seam movement, but did not offer excessive assistance to the bowlers.
Aiden Markram and Rickelton looked relatively untroubled, putting on 61 runs for the first wicket before Markram was dismissed for 17.
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The right-hander was caught by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan off the bowling of Khurram Shahzad, with Rizwan completing a sharp catch off an under-edge as Markram attempted a drive.
Wiaan Mulder, returning to the side after injury and promoted to number three, could not make an impact. He made just five runs before offering Rizwan a simple catch off Mohammad Abbas’ bowling.
Just before lunch, Tristan Stubbs was dismissed for a duck, edging spinner Salman Agha to Rizwan behind the stumps to give the keeper his third victim of the session.
Despite the early loss of wickets, South Africa is looking to win the series 2-0 after a tense two-wicket victory in the first Test in Pretoria
Earlier, South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first in the second Test of the two-match series against Pakistan at Newlands in Cape Town on Friday.
Pakistan made a late announcement regarding their playing XI just half an hour before the toss. Star pacer Naseem Shah, who had a tough outing in the Centurion Test. Left-arm pacer Mir Hamza has been brought into the side to replace Naseem Shah for this crucial second Test.
The decision to drop Naseem Shah has raised eyebrows, with Pakistan looking to strengthen their bowling attack for the Cape Town test.
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Teams:
Pakistan Playing XI: Shan Masood (c), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Mir Hamza, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas
South Africa Playing XI: Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka
