South Africa bat first in final Test against Pakistan

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JOHANNESBURG, (DNA) – South Africa’s stand-in captain Dean Elgar won the toss and decided to bat in the third and final Test at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Friday.Proteas, who seek a clean sweep of the three-test series, were off to a shaky start when Elgar was caught behind for 5.

This is the second time Elgar has captained the side. He led South Africa in the first test against England at Lord’s in 2017 when Du Plessis returned home for the birth of a child.

Du Plessis was suspended for the match for a slow over-rate in the second test in Cape Town, which has meant a debut for 23-year-old batsman Zubayr Hamza, who has been pushing his case with strong domestic form over the last two seasons.

Pakistan made three changes to the side that lost the second Test at Newlands by nine wickets; Shadab Khan comes in for Fakhar Zaman, Faheem Ashraf for Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hassan Ali for Yasir Shah.

Pakistan

Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain/wicketkeeper), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali

South Africa

Dean Elgar (captain), Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma, Zubayr Hamza, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Duanne Olivier