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Pakistan will go into tomorrow’s Test match against South Africa with just over two hours of net practice here at the National Stadium.

While the visiting South Africans managed to get some feel of the hot and humid conditions here by playing in a three-day warm-up match against the Patron’s XI, the Pakistanis opted for just a solitary training session before the opening Test.

They returned home on September 26 after featuring in the final of the World Twenty20 in South Africa and opted to have a brief rest before reassembling here for the Test. The tight schedule may pose problems for the Pakistanis, especially their batsmen, as they will have little time to switch to Test mode after having played extensive Twenty20 cricket during the last several weeks.

However, Pakistan’s chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed is hopeful that the hosts will overcome any teething problems and will make a strong start to the two-match Test series. “We haven’t made many changes in the squad that played in South Africa which is I’m confident that the players will give their best in the Karachi Test,” said the former Pakistan Test cricketer.

Pakistan recalled Taufeeq Umar, who was not a part of their twenty20 line-up, in the Test squad but the left-handed opener featured in the warm-up game that ended on Saturday. He scored a fifty in the three-day game. Danish Kaneria is another player who was not a part of the Twenty20 squad but returns to the side after having played extensive county cricket in England this season.

Source:Cricket News