The two former Trophy champions meet for the first time in the event's history in Rawalpindi today (3pm, Bangladesh Time), having each won their first games in Group B.
Captain Temba Bavuma hailed what he termed South Africa’s brave decision to bat first in their comprehensive 107-run Champions Trophy win over Afghanistan on Friday as they mastered a Karachi wicket that had left both teams unsure over how it would play.
Only once before in their history have South Africa won more Tests in succession, when they claimed nine victories on the trot between 2002 and 2003.
Ryan Rickelton played a breakthrough innings as South Africa dominated the first day of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands on Friday.
“I was still sulking in the toilet. There were not a lot of conversations. We still had the confidence. I did not come out to the viewing area and was in the toilet. I came when 15 runs were needed,” Bavuma laughed.
Five Test wins in a row, made up of away victories over West Indies in Guyana in August, two in Bangladesh in October and two more over Sri Lanka, means South Africa top the table of Test results over the last two-year cycle and are within touching distance of a place in the final at Lord’s from June 11-15.
A clean sweep of the two-match series against Sri Lanka, which starts at Kingsmead on Wednesday, and the two tests with Pakistan from Dec 26, would put South Africa into June’s final at Lord’s.
A major inclusion in the side sees full-time skipper Temba Bavuma return as skipper, having recovered from a left elbow injury, which ruled him out of the recent series in Bangladesh.
Aiden Markram will replace Temba Bavuma as South Africa captain for the first Test against Bangladesh later this month, Cricket South Africa said on Friday.
Bavuma's determined 86 and a more enterprising 78 from de Zorzi were linchpins in the Proteas' effort on a benign surface offering little for the bowlers but also made free scoring difficult because of its two-paced nature.
Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the final Test of the series against India, Cricket South Africa confirmed after the conclusion of the first game on Thursday. Bavuma sustained an injury while fielding on Day 1 of the Test match and as a result, played no further part in the game after scans revealed a hamstring strain.
Bavuma opened the innings in the World Cup but averaged only 18.12 across his eight games with a high score of 35
"A lot of people believe that this could be the year that we see ourselves in the final," Bavuma, who remains doubtful to play the semi-final due his hamstring injury, told reporters.
South Africa, yet to lift one-day international cricket's showpiece trophy, have often been the authors of their own downfall
It was left to the last pair of Keshav Maharaj (seven not out) and Tabraiz Shamsi (four not out) to score the last 11 runs for South Africa's fifth win in six games.
Temba Bavuma said he would fulfil a cherished ambition on Saturday when he leads out South Africa in a World Cup match against England at the Wankhede Stadium, the home ground of his boyhood idol Sachin Tendulkar.
It appears the BCCI missed a trick by not having the hosts play the World Cup opener.
He made history when he became the first Black South African to score a Test hundred, against England in 2016. But he needed patience over the next seven years, two months and 88 innings as he waited for his second Test ton
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma struck a career best 144 from 118 balls in the home side's reply, but they were bowled out for 287 in 41.4 overs in their attempt to keep up with the required run rate
