PRETORIA: South Africa won the toss and put Pakistan into bat on the opening day of the first test at Centurion on Thursday, hoping to make early inroads with an all-out pace attack.
South Africa are chasing a place in next year’s World Test Championship final but, in order to do so, must win at least one test in the two-test series against Pakistan.
“It was a tricky decision to make but we’d like to have a go with the new ball,” said South Africa captain Temba Bavuma after winning the toss.
The pitch at Centurion traditionally offers plenty of seam movement for the bowlers.
The home side named their team on Tuesday with 30-year-old fast bowler Corbin Bosch to debut in an all-seamer bowling line-up, joining Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada and Dane Paterson in the home attack as he gets an opportunity because of a long injury list among the country’s fast bowlers.
Pakistan also selected a side without a specialist spinner, with Mohammad Abbas, Aamer Jamal, Naseem Shah and Khurram Shahzad in their bowling attack.
Abbas plays a first test in three years while Naseem is back after being dropped for the last two tests against England in October. Shahzad was injured for that three-test series.
“The last couple of times we’ve played at Centurion, we’ve gone with the seam attack and we’ve seen some success. The pitch does not favor the spinners at all,” said Bavuma.
“Conditions favor the seamers,” added Pakistan captain Shan Masood, “but you get a lot of value for your shots so it’s about picking the right balls and getting a decent first innings score on the board.”
Babar Azam, also dropped for the last two tests against England at home in October, returns which means Masood will open the batting alongside Saim Ayub.
The 22-year-old Ayub scored two centuries as Pakistan thrashed South Africa 3-0 in their One Day International series last week.
Teams:
South Africa: Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma (captain), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wicketkeeper), Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Dane Paterson.
Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas.

QUETTA: An 18-inch diameter gas pipeline was destroyed by an explosion in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Wednesday evening, officials confirmed, suspending gas supply to several areas of the province, including its capital, Quetta.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area, is rich in natural resources, including significant natural gas reserves. The Sui gas field, located in the province, is one of the country’s largest and supplies a substantial portion of Pakistan’s natural gas needs.

Attacks on gas pipelines in Balochistan are not unprecedented. Militant groups, particularly Baloch separatists, have a history of targeting infrastructure to express grievances over the alleged exploitation of the province’s resources without adequate benefit to the local population, a charge the government denies.

These groups have previously carried out attacks on gas pipelines, power lines, and other infrastructure, disrupting supplies and causing economic losses. The latest incident targeting the pipeline occurred at Quetta’s western bypass, according to a local police official.

“The explosion has damaged the gas pipeline while police and other law enforcing agencies have commenced investigation,” Mehmood Kharoti, Station House Officer of Brewery Police Station, told Arab News.

He said unidentified individuals had planted an explosive device along the pipeline in the Killi Khali area.

The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) also issued a statement confirming the incident.

“The main gas supply line caught fire after the explosion which has been controlled by the SSGC team but gas supply has been suspended in many parts of Quetta, Kuchlak, Pishin, Yaro, Karbala and Huramzai,” the statement said.

“The repair work of the damaged gas pipeline will be started tomorrow after the security clearance by the law enforcement agencies,” it added.

Balochistan, which shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan, has experienced a low-level insurgency for decades. Baloch nationalists have called for greater autonomy and a larger share of the region’s resource wealth. The Pakistani government says it has launched several development projects in the region to address these concerns, but tensions persist.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack.