New Zealand, who abandoned their white-ball tour of Pakistan last year due to security concerns, are looking to end a run of four straight test defeats with Southee as the new captain following the six-year tenure of Kane Williamson.
Pakistan moved themselves into a strong position, needing eight wickets to win while South Africa are chasing an imposing target as the first Test headed for an exciting conclusion.
South Africa fought a rearguard action to turn the second Test against Pakistan on its head and take the upper hand after an enthralling third day's play on Wednesday.
'In a World Cup, if you are not good even in one department, you lose. We started well while bowling, but we couldn't take wickets.'
Former Pakistan Cricket Board chief Zaka Ashraf has defended his decision to remove Babar Azam as captain following the team's disappointing ODI World Cup campaign in India.
A burgeoning third wicket stand between Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafique had kept Pakistan in the contest and the duo continued to frustrate Australia when play resumed.
Pakistan's Babar Azam does not think the burden of captaincy has affected his batting at the World Cup and is not losing sleep over whether he will keep the job after the showpiece event.
Morne Morkel resigns as Pakistan's bowling coach
It was the highest run chase in men's T20 cricket without losing a wicket.
Babar Azam and five other players will prolong their stay in the United States
From the Southern Stars, Healy was deservingly chosen for her dominant show against all types of bowling in the recent series against New Zealand.
Former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair also lashed out, alleging Naqvi dropped Pakistan's top players, leading to team's three consecutive defeats at the hands of arch-rivals India.
Babar Azam's decision to step down from Pakistan captaincy has evoked a mixed reaction from his teammates.
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title. The 10th edition of the 20-overs global showpiece event will run from February 7 to March 8.
Babar Azam's mother was on a ventilator when the Pakistan skipper went about leading his team to a thumping victory over arch-rivals India in their T20 World Cup match in Dubai on Sunday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board in a bid to attract more crowds to the Test match have for the first time announced free entry for several enclosures.
Former Pakistan players tore into captain Babar Azam and other players for their poor performance in World Cup 2023.
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title in familiar home conditions next month.
Babar Azam is the number one ranked T20I batsman while Virat Kohli is at the top spot in ODI rankings.
The central contracts stand-off between Pakistan Cricket Board and top national players ended on Wednesday.
The Pakistani skipper was asked whether there was any message given by the prime minister ahead of their Super 12 game against India.
Pakistan collapsed from 362-5 to 378 all out as Muthusamy finished with Test best figures of 6-117.
Imam was in a hurry to reach his ton and, attacking the bowling, got an inside edge to Senuran Muthusamy's left-arm spin and was snagged at short leg by Tony de Zorzi's sharp catch.
Noman collected a 10-wicket haul during Pakistan's 93-run triumph over South Africa in Lahore recently and moved up four places.
Afridi said Rohit instils a sense of self-belief in his team with his aggressive style of play.
Focus firmly on match, India-Pakistan clash will be interesting: Kotak
In an explosive press conference on Sunday, a woman accused Pakistan skipper Babar Azam of 'physical abuse' for nearly 10 years.
Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has criticized Babar Azam for focusing on personal milestones over team success, expressing concerns about Pakistan's preparations ahead of their crucial Champions Trophy clash against India. He believes Pakistan's recent struggles, including a disappointing Tri-Nation Series campaign and a 1-1 draw against the West Indies in a home Test series, point to a lack of readiness for the India encounter.
At stumps, Pakistan's score read 145/3 with Fawad and Babar unbeaten on 42 and 77 runs respectively. For South Africa, Keshav Maharaj picked two, Anrich Nortje took one while Kagiso Rabada went wicketless.
India's biggest challenge could come from an unexpected source -- Pakistan's mystery spinner Usman Tariq.
K L Rahul blazed his way to a century against Gujarat Titans in Delhi on Sunday, etching his name in the record books despite his team's 10-wicket defeat.
Pakistan's T20 captain, Salman Ali Agha, remains optimistic despite his team's 1-4 series loss to New Zealand, believing the new faces tried out in the matches will eventually come through.
Earlier, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar had made an appeal to his fans in Pakistan to come forward and help India in tackling the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
India have lost only once to Pakistan in the T20 World Cup in seven meetings, their only defeat coming in 2021 when the Virat Kohli-led side lost by 10 wickets at the Super 12 stage.
Under the shimmering floodlights and in front of a roaring partisan crowd, Virat Kohli unleashed his latest masterclass, blasting a 42-ball 70 to guide Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a sensational 11-run win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Babar has taken just 76 innings to score 13 tons while Amla, who until now was the fastest, had scored his 13th ODI hundred in 83 innings. Kohli had taken 86 innings to score 13 ODI hundreds.
The run-up to the marquee event has been chaotic to say the least with change in captaincy, shuffling of the top-order and players coming out of retirement.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam hailed his team's pace bowling unit, saying the fast bowlers would boost the side's confidence ahead of its Super Sunday clash against arch-rivals India.
'This team was incredibly difficult to select over such a highly competitive tournament. Selections were based predominantly on the Super 12 onward to the final.'
Babar Azam would have to learn from how Kohli had handled his captaincy responsibilities.
