South Africa vs Pakistan 2018-19, 3rd Test: Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

South Africa will be aiming a clean sweep against Pakistan as they take on the visiting side in the 3rd and final game of the Test series in Johannesburg. Faf du Plessis, who bagged a pair in the first Test match, bounced back with a century in the second. However, a slow over-rate offence has suspended the South African captain for the final Test. This will give Zubayr Hamza a chance to make his Test debut and is set to become the 100th Test player for the Saffers since their readmission in 1992.

Alongside Faf, the South Africans are expected to deal with the fitness of Hashim Amla and Aiden Markram who were in discomfort during the previous Test. On the other hand, Pakistan will be hoping to gain something out of this final game. Their batsmen performed on different scenarios this season but never clicked collectively. Their bowlers did put on a decent performance but weren’t enough to reduce the home team’s domination.

Match Details:

The 3rd match of the three-match Test series between South Africa and Pakistan will be hosted by the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.

The match starts on 11th January 2019 at 10:30 AM local time (8:30 AM GMT) (1:30 PM IST).

The game will be live on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD in India. (Live streaming in Sony Liv)

Last five Test matches:

South Africa: W, W, L, L, W.

Pakistan: L, L, L, W, L.

Pitch Condition/Report:

The last Test match hosted by Johannesburg was the game between the hosts and Australia. It was a bit easy for the batsmen after the track laid for the South Africa-India Test was reported by the ICC. The three Tests hosted by this venue before SA-Aus Test have been too tough for the batsmen. It will be interesting to see what sort of surface is rolled out for the game against Pakistan.

Squads:

South Africa:

Dean Elgar (C), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Zubayr Hamza, Aiden Markram, Keshav Maharaj, Duanne Olivier, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander, Dane Paterson, Pieter Malan.

Pakistan:

Sarfraz Ahmed (C & wk), Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Abbas.

Injury and Availability Updates after the announcement of the squads:

Aiden Markram could be replaced by Pieter Malan subjected to fitness.

Hashim Amla has recovered after being retired hurt in the 4th innings of the previous Test.

Some late reports mention Shaheen Shah could be replaced by Hasan Ali owing fitness issues.

Power Picks:

Shan Masood’s scores in this series read 19, 65, 44 and 61. The left-hander has hardly seen a failure in this series. Making a change in his stance helped Masood succeed on his Test comeback. He also bagged a wicket each in both the matches.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Kagiso Rabada has claimed over 50 Test wickets each in the last two calendar years and started 2019 strongly. Along with hin, another pacer from South African can be picked as vice-captain. The likes of Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Afridi will be alternatives. Given the recent poor outings of the batsmen in both the team, it is tough to rely on them.

Suggested Playing XI for Head to Head/Small Leagues:

Keeper – Quinton de Kock

Batsmen – Babar Azam, Dean Elgar, Shan Masood, Asad Shafiq

All-Rounders – Vernon Philander

Bowlers – Kagiso Rabada (C), Duanne Olivier (VC), Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi, Dale Steyn

Suggested Playing XI for Grand Leagues/Mega Leagues:

Keeper – Quinton de Kock

Batsmen – Babar Azam, Dean Elgar (C), Shan Masood, Asad Shafiq, Temba Bavuma

All-Rounders – Vernon Philander

Bowlers – Kagiso Rabada (VC), Duanne Olivier, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi

Expert Advice:

The above-mentioned squads are made keeping the pitches in the first two Testes in mind. Both the suggested playing XIs will have to be changed if both team managements thinker with their pace attack to bring in a spinner.

Probable Winners:

South Africa are expected to complete a whitewash in the Test series against Pakistan.

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