Pakistan win toss and bat in Rawalpindi

Pakistan captain Shan Masood struck the first, possibly significant, blow, when he won the toss and chose to bat first in the second and final test against South Africa at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday.

It is the second consecutive toss that Aiden Markram has lost with Pakistan batting first on both occasions. In Lahore the result of the toss was significant with the pitch deteriorating sharply after Pakistan had batted first, with the surface suiting the spinners of both teams. Pakistan won that match by 93 runs.

PAKISTAN: Shan Masood (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Asif Afridi

SOUTH AFRICA: Aiden Markram (captain), Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada