Stats: Proteas vs Pakistan at Newlands

Following a hard-fought six-wicket win in the Boxing Day Test, the Proteas move on to the second Test against Pakistan in Cape Town. ANITHA MADIKIZELA crunched the numbers to see what Newlands might have in store for players and fans.

Proteas milestones to watch out for

Quinton de Kock needs just 30 more runs to reach 2000 Test career runs and will expect to pass this milestone under the watchful eye of Table Mountain.
Kagiso Rabada is 50 runs away from 500 Test career runs, and I’m personally hoping he reaches the landmark with a swashbuckling half-century in the first innings.
After a quiet first Test, Keshav Maharaj is still 10 wickets away from 100 Test career wickets. He will be hoping to get the opportunity to do so in the second Test amid the present selection debate, heading to Newlands. He could add handsomely to this figure if he gets to bowl at Pakistan on the fourth or fifth days.

Pakistan milestones to watch out for

Yasir Shah needs just two more runs to reach the 500 run milestone in Test cricket.
Asad Shafiq needs 33 runs to reach 500 Test career runs against South Africa.
Azhar Ali didn’t make the big runs he was hoping for in the first Test and still needs 42 more to reach 500 runs against South Africa. A big contribution with the bat in Newlands could also propel the veteran batsman to fifth on the list of Pakistan’s highest Test run-scorers. He is currently 122 runs behind Saleem Malik, who rounds out Pakistan’s top five on 5,768 runs. Younis Khan’s mark of 10,099 Test runs is a couple of years down the road for Azhar.

Proteas’ Test records at Newlands

Hashim Amla is 39 runs away from eclipsing AB de Villiers as the third-highest run-scorer at Newlands and 57 runs away from second-placed Graeme Smith’s 1,363 runs at the venue.
Vernon Philander needs one more wicket to reach his 50th at Newlands … while three more wickets will ensure he overtakes Shaun Pollock as the third-highest wicket-taker at the venue. Makhaya Ntini is in second place with 53 wickets.
Dale Steyn is the leading wicket-taker at Newlands with 67 sticks under his belt and will be keen to add to his tally at the venue.
Dale Steyn is eight wickets away from overtaking Sir Richard Hadlee to enter the list of the Top 10 Test wicket-takers of all time.

The second Test between South Africa and Pakistan will take place at Newlands from 3-7 January 2019 at 10:30am (8:30am GMT).

Photo: Luke Walker/Gallo Images