Markram is adamant about keeping South Africa on top in the first Pakistan Test

• Pakistan’s Khurram Shahzad dismisses two Proteas players.
• Mohammad Abbas takes the wicket of Tristan Stubbs on Day 1.
• South Africa now trail by 129 runs with 7 wickets in hand.

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South Africa finished the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan as the side scored 82 runs for the loss of three wickets at the SuperSport Park, Centurion on Thursday.

At the start of their innings, the Proteas had received an early blow from Pakistan’s Khurram Shahzad when he dismissed opener Tony de Zori in the third over.

The other opener, Aiden Markram, was joined by Ryan Rickelton, but Shahzad struck again and dismissed the newcomer after just adding eight runs to the scoreboard.

Rickelton’s replacement, Tristan Stubbs, faced 28 balls as Markram steadily added runs to the scoreboard.

Stubb’s cameo was short-lived as he fell to Mohammad Abbas on nine runs.

Markram remained steady throughout the innings and was then joined by skipper Temba Bavuma and the pair continued to bat towards the end of the day.

Markram’s score at Stumps was 47 off 67 as the captain added four runs off 23 balls.

Pakistan’s Shahzad took two scalps while Abbas dismissed a South African batter. South Africa now trail by 129 runs.

Earlier, the Proteas pacers had rattled Pakistan and bundled out the side for 211 runs in their first innings, with Dane Paterson taking a five-wicket haul as Corbin Bosch took four scalps while Marco Jansen took the final wicket of the innings.

Pakistan opener Saim Ayub fell on 14 and Babar Azam on 4. Whereas Shan Masood was sent for 17 and Saud Shakeel for 14.

The disappointment continued for Pakistan with the fall of Kamran Ghulam after he scored 54 runs, the highest score by any batsman in the innings.

Things continued to get worse for Masood’s men with the dismissals of wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan (27 off 62), Salman Ali Agha (18 off 34) and Aamer Jamal (28 off 27).

After a duck from Naseem Shah, it was all down to Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Abbas. The duo put up a strong showing and helped Pakistan cross the 200-run mark against the Proteas.

However, the partnership was quickly broken by Jansen, who dismissed Khurram and brought an end to Pakistan’s first innings.

After winning the toss, South Africa chose to play first against Pakistan.

The Proteas are chasing a place in next year’s World Test Championship final, but to do so they need to win at least one Test in the series against Pakistan.

“It was a difficult decision to make but we want the new ball,” South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said after winning the toss.

The track at Centurion traditionally offers plenty of seam movement for the bowlers.

The home side named their squad on Tuesday with 30-year-old fast bowler Corbin Bosch to debut in a bowling line-up where he joins Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada and Dane Paterson in the home attack as he gets an opportunity due to a long injury list among the country’s fast bowlers.

Pakistan also picked a team without a specialist spinner, with Mohammad Abbas, Aamer Jamal, Naseem Shah and Khurram Shahzad in their bowling attack.

Abbas is playing his first Test for three years, while Naseem is back after being dropped for the last two Tests against England in October. Shahzad was injured for the three-Test series.

“The last few times we’ve played in 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.

“The 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, who was also dropped for the last two Tests against England at home in October, returns, meaning Masood will open the match alongside Saim Ayub.

The 22-year-old Ayub scored two centuries as Pakistan beat South Africa 3-0 in their One Day International series last week.

Pakistan XI: Shan Masood (capt), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas

South Africa XI: Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma (capt), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Dane Paterson, Corbin Bosch

Schedule of matches:

First Test — December 26 to December 30 at SuperSport Park, Centurion

Second Test — January 3 to January 7 at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town