Both South Africa and Pakistan will look to end 2018 on a high when they square off in the three-match Test series which gets underway in Centurion on Boxing Day.
The series will also afford a chance to South Africa and Pakistan to get back to winning ways after their Test series losses to Sri Lanka and New Zealand respectively.
As the two sides get ready for a highly anticipated battle, we look at the three key battles that could prove decisive in the series.
KAGISO RABADA V FAKHAR ZAMAN
South Africa might have to make do without the services of Vernon Philander and Lungi Ngidi but there is still plenty of firepower in the hosts’ pace battery to unsettle the Pakistan batsmen.
Their chief pace threat will come from No1 ranked Test bowler Kagiso Rabada who has established himself as the undisputed leader of the bowling attack over the past couple of years.
With 151 scalps to his name in just 32 Tests, Rabada is as elite a pacer as they come in Test cricket. The 23-year-old will be tasked with providing the hosts with the early breakthroughs with the new ball and for that, he will need to get the better of Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman.
Fakhar has been tremendous for Pakistan in limited-overs cricket and scored a combined 160 runs against Australia on his Test debut. The left-hander loves throwing caution to the wind with his attacking approach and his duel with Rabada is bound to be an intriguing one.
Rabada v Fakhar promises to be a blockbuster.
DALE STEYN V AZHAR ALI
Pakistan’s shaky batting line-up will be put to the test by the hosts in the series and the visitors will be hoping Azhar Ali can put his experience to good use. The 33-year-old veteran is the most experienced among all of Pakistan’s batsmen and will be the linchpin around whom the visitors’ batting will revolve.
The right-hander is currently in fine nick following scores of 81 and 134 in the final two Tests against New Zealand. He warmed up nicely for the South Africa battle with a century in Pakistan’s sole warm-up game.
The Pakistan veteran will have to contend with the challenge posed by Dale Steyn who is bidding to become South Africa’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker. In the absence of Philander and Ngidi, the burden on Steyn to perform will be much greater and the 35-year-old pacer has been showing signs of getting back to his best in recent times after overcoming his injury troubles.
This battle of the two veterans promises to be a fascinating one and its impact on the final outcome of the series will be huge.
Can Azhar thwart Steyn’s charge at the Centurion?
HASHIM AMLA V YASIR SHAH
Pacers are expected to rule the roost in South African conditions but it would take a brave man to discount the possible threat posed by Yasir Shah. The Pakistan leg-spinner has been backed by skipper Sarfraz Ahmed to spin a web around the Proteas batsmen and he comes into the series on the back of impressive form.
Shah picked up a staggering 29 wickets across the three Tests against the Kiwis including a record 14-wicket match haul in Dubai. The 32-year-old can extract life out of any track and will be Pakistan’s biggest threat at Centurion in the absence of the injured Mohammad Abbas.
Shah will look to get on top of Hashim Amla early on with the South African stalwart struggling for form. The best player of spin in the South African ranks, Amla has averaged less than 25 in the calendar year with no century.
Amla will be desperate to get out of this unprecedented lean spell but he will first have to survive the Shah test.
Out-of-form Amla has an acid test in the form of Yasir Shah.
