Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed is hopeful that pacer Mohammad Abbas and middle-order batsman Haris Sohail will be fit for the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town.  

South Africa defeated Pakistan by six wickets during the first Test and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

“Hopefully Abbas and Sohail will be fit for next Test,” said Sarfraz while speaking in the post-match press conference after the conclusion of the first Test in Centurion.

Sarfraz also spoke about the team’s increasing concerns when it comes to batting in the second innings of a Test match.

“We tend to struggle in the second innings often especially during the past couple of years. As soon as one of the set batsmen gets out, the rest follow soon after,” he said. “We need to address this situation and, both, the players and coaching staff will have to work on this or else we will continue to suffer.”

Sarfraz also shared his thoughts on the controversial decision regarding Azhar Ali’s catch of Dean Elgar.  

Elgar edged Shaheen Shah Afridi low to first slip where Azhar appeared to take a diving catch.

On-field umpires Bruce Oxenford and Sundaram Ravi conferred before referring to television umpire Joel Wilson with a 'soft' signal of out, indicating they thought it was a clean catch.

After looking at several replays including super-slow close-ups, Wilson ruled the ball had bounced and Elgar was reprieved.

In a similar situation, Indian captain Virat Kohli was given out in the recent second Test against Australia in Perth when television umpire Nigel Llong found no conclusive evidence to overturn a 'soft' signal from the on-field umpires.

“For me that was a clear catch and also the on-field call was out,” he said. “We also had Virat Kohli’s precedent in this regard which is why I think that should have been given out.”

The Pakistan skipper also spoke about the positives the team will take from the first Test, despite defeat.

“I think the way Azam batted in the first innings and Imam, Masood in the second, are few of the positives we can take out of this game,” he said. “I’m also confident that our bowlers will continue to perform well after their exploits in the first Test.”

While talking about the turning point of the match, the 31-year-old said that the final session on second day had a significant bearing on the outcome of the Test match.  

"We had an opportunity after tea [on second day]. If we played one more hour, we had the opportunity to put runs on the board," he said. "But we didn't capitalise on that, lost too many wickets and so lost the match."

Sarfraz also commented on the nature of the Centurion pitch by stating: "I don't want to say too much about the pitch. If you see it's two and a half days, it's not an easy pitch to bat on. Every batsman is struggling. The first 30-40 balls are not easy. If you see in the second innings, even Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar struggled early on. Early on, all batsmen are struggling. It is not an easy Test pitch, batting is very difficult. It is a bowling paradise kind of pitch.”

The second Test between Pakistan and South Africa will begin in Cape Town on January 3, 2019.