Elgar, Du Plessis steady Proteas ship in first Test in Pakistan

The Proteas reached 94 for two after 26 overs at lunch on the first day of the first Test against Pakistan in Karachi on Tuesday.

At the crease were Dean Elgar on 46 and Faf du Plessis on 14.

The men who’d been dismissed were Aiden Markram for 13 and Rassie van der Dussen for 17.

Earlier, South Africa captain Quinton de Kock won the toss and opted to bat in the first Test at the National Stadium.

South Africa entered the Test – their first in Pakistan in 14 years – with two spinners,  Keshav Maharaj and George Linde, to exploit a bare pitch which is expected to take spin.

Pakistan handed Test caps to 34-year-old left-arm spinner Nauman Ali and 25-year-old opener Imran Butt in a combination of three pacers and two spinners.

South Africa’s selectors were allegedly hoping to go into the Test with three spin bowlers, but Tabraiz Shamsi reportedly suffered a back spasm and was ruled out of the match on Tuesday morning.

ALSO READ: ‘Brave’ Proteas to back three spinners in first Pakistan Test?

His place was taken by Lungi Ngidi, who joined fellow quicks Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada, who missed the two-Test series with Sri Lanka over the festive season with injury, in the lineup.

Teams

Pakistan: Babar Azam (capt), Abid Ali, Imran Butt, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Rizwan, Nauman Ali, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (capt), Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Anrich Nortje, George Linde

Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Ahsan Raza (PAK)

Tv umpire: Asif Yaqoob (PAK)

Match referee: Mohammad Javed Malik (PAK)

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