South Africa seeking ruthless edge against Pakistan in second test

South Africa's red ball dominance leads them to the WTC final, but concerns linger over their batting lineup.

South Africa have already sealed their place in this year’s World Test Championship (WTC) final ahead of the second and final test against Pakistan at Newlands on Friday but will want to keep their momentum going in the longest format.

South Africa beat Pakistan by two wickets in a tense first test in Pretoria and have won their last six red ball matches in a row, their joint best run since a team record nine victories in succession in 2002 and 2003.

This form has propelled them into the WTC final at Lord’s in June but questions around their brittle batting line-up will be a major focus on what has recently been a perilous Newlands pitch.

The previous test played there against India 12 months ago lasted only 107 overs as the visitors won by seven wickets inside two days, the shortest test that has had a winner in history.

The wicket should be better this time round, but at a ground that used to be a fortress for the home team, they have lost two of their last three tests in Cape Town.

"We definitely haven't been clinical or ruthless when the opportunity or the situation is called upon," South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said. "But I think what we've done is that we've found ways to make sure that the result is on our side.

"If I look at our batting group, we don't have batters that are averaging 45-plus. All of us are mid-30s, late-30s, which shows that at some point guys are going to make some contribution to the team."