South Africa vs Pakistan: Mohammad Abbas available for Newlands Test

Pakistan didn’t have the greatest of starts to the ongoing three-match Test series against South Africa. Sarfraz Ahmed and Co lost the opening contest at SuperSport Park in Centurion by six wickets. Furthermore, the visiting team also conceded a 1-0 lead to the Proteas. The second encounter is scheduled to get underway on Thursday, January 3 at Newlands in Cape Town.

In the meantime, it has been learned that fast bowler Mohammad Abbas has regained fitness and is available for selection for the upcoming Test as per reports in Geo News. He has missed Pakistan’s last two Tests against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi and the last match in the Rainbow Nation, owing to a shoulder injury, which he developed during the second Test against the Kiwis.

A big boost for Pakistan

The 28-year-old speedster injured his shoulder while fielding in the second innings of the match against the Black Caps. Thereafter, he played the rest of the match with painkiller after which he underwent a shoulder scan and the management asked him to rest. The Sialkot-born cricketer was also slated to miss three to four weeks of cricket, which means that he has managed to recover in time.

Albeit, the pacer didn’t perform to expectations against Kane Williamson and Co, he has had a huge impact with the ball in the 12 matches he has played. Abbas currently has 61 wickets at a stupendous average of 16.62 with best figures of 5/33. Recently, the pacer became the second fastest Pakistan bowler to accomplish 50 Test wickets after leg-break bowler Yasir Shah.

He made his Test debut last year against Windies and he has carved himself as an indispensable member of the Test team. The pitch in Centurion helped the fast bowlers to a significant extent and Abbas would definitely have been a tough prospect to deal with for the Proteas’ batsmen. Pakistan would undoubtedly be boosted by the recent development on Abbas.

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