Markram is determined to keep South Africa on top in the first Pakistan Test

• Pakistan’s Khurram Shahzad dismisses two Proteas batters.
• Mohammad Abbas takes the wicket of Tristan Stubbs on the first day.
• South Africa now trail by 129 runs with 7 wickets in hand.

South Africa ended the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan as the team scored 82 runs for the loss of three wickets at SuperSport Park, Centurion on Thursday.

Earlier in their innings, the Proteas had received an early blow from Pakistan’s Khurram Shahzad when he dismissed opening batsman Tony de Zori in the third over.

The other opener, Aiden Markram, was assisted by Ryan Rickelton, but Shahzad struck again, dismissing the rookie after he had just added eight runs to the scoreboard.

Rickelton’s replacement, Tristan Stubbs, faced 28 balls while Markram steadily added more runs to the scoreboard.

Stubb’s cameo was short-lived as he failed for nine runs against Mohammad Abbas.

Markram remained steady throughout the innings and was then joined by captain Temba Bavuma and the pair continued to bat towards the end of the day.

Markram’s score at stumps was 47 off 67 while the captain added four runs off 23 balls.

Pakistan’s Shahzad picked up two scalps while Abbas sent off a South African batsman. South Africa are now 129 runs behind.

Earlier, the Proteas pacers had shocked Pakistan, defeating the team by 211 runs in their first innings with Dane Paterson taking a five-wicket haul while Corbin Bosch claimed four scalps and Marco Jansen took the last wicket of the innings.

Pakistan opener Saim Ayub fell with 14 and Babar Azam with 4. However, Shan Masood was eliminated with 17 and Saud Shakeel with 14.

The disappointment for Pakistan continued with the fall of Kamran Ghulam after he scored 54 runs, the highest score of any batsman in the innings.

Things went from bad to worse for Masood’s men with the dismissals of wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan (27 off 62), Salman Ali Agha (18 off 34) and Aamer Jamal (28 off 27).

After a duck by Naseem Shah, it was all up to Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Abbas. The duo put up a strong stand and helped Pakistan cross the 200-run mark against the Proteas.

However, the partnership was soon broken by Jansen, who dismissed Khurram, putting an end to Pakistan’s first innings.

After winning the toss, South Africa decided to play Pakistan first.

Proteas are aiming for a place in next year’s World Test Championship final, but to do so they need to win at least one Test in the series against Pakistan.

“It was a difficult decision but we would like to get started with the new ball,” South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said after winning the toss.

The pitch at Centurion traditionally offers a lot of seam movement to the bowlers.

The home team named their team on Tuesday with 30-year-old fast bowler Corbin Bosch, who will debut in an all-seamer bowling line-up, joining Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada and Dane Paterson in the home attack if given a chance has a long list of injuries among the country’s fast bowlers.

Pakistan also chose a team without a specialist spinner in Mohammad Abbas, Aamer Jamal, Naseem Shah and Khurram Shahzad in their bowling attack.

Abbas is playing his first Test in three years while Naseem is back after missing the last two Tests against England in October. Shahzad was injured during these three Test series.

“The last few times we played at Centurion we went with the seam attack and had some success. “The pitch doesn’t favor the spinners at all,” said Bavuma.

“The conditions are favorable for the seamers,” added Pakistan captain Shan Masood, “but you get a lot of value for your batting, so it’s a matter of picking the right balls and getting a decent first innings score on the board .”

Babar Azam, who also missed the last two home Tests against England in October, returns, meaning Masood will open the batting alongside Saim Ayub.

Ayub, 22, scored two centuries as Pakistan beat South Africa 3-0 in the One Day International series last week.

Pakistan XI: Shan Masood (captain), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Rizwan (week), Saud Shakeel, Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas

South Africa XI: Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma (main actor), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (week), Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Dane Paterson, Corbin Bosch

Game plan:

First Test – December 26-30 at SuperSport Park, Centurion

Second Test – January 3-7 at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town