South Africa bat in final Test against Pakistan

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa won the toss and decided to bat on Friday in the third and final Test against Pakistan of a series the hosts have already won.

Although South Africa clinched the series by winning the first two matches, stand-in captain Dean Elgar said: "It is still a big game for us. It is definitely not a dead rubber game."

Elgar said the pitch at Wanderers Stadium looked "really good" with Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed saying it would help the batsmen.

South Africa surprisingly stayed with an all-pace attack although the surface looked drier than usual for the Wanderers despite having a reasonable covering of grass.

Batsman Zubayr Hamza replaced suspended regular captain Faf du Plessis and became South Africa's 100th Test cap since the country returned to international cricket in 1991.

Pakistan made three changes, with all-rounders Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf and fast bowler Hasan Ali replacing Fakhar Zaman, Yasir Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Teams:

South Africa: Dean Elgar (captain), Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, Theunis de Bruyn, Zubayr Hamza, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wkt), Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Duanne Olivier.

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain/wkt), Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas.

Umpires: Sundaram Ravi (IND), Joel Wilson (WIN)

TV umpire: Bruce Oxenford (AUS)

Match referee: David Boon (AUS)