Rock-steady South Africa face unpredictable Pakistan

World number one South Africa will hold most of the aces against an erratic and unpredictable Pakistan when the teams open a two-Test series here tomorrow.
Graeme Smith's Proteas have dominated the five-day format and are unbeaten in a Test series (away from home) since losing to Sri Lanka 2-0 in 2006.
Their record against sub-continent teams is particularly impressive as they have lost only four out of their last 20 Tests against such opposition, doing so just once in an away series.
South Africa have beaten Pakistan in 11 of their 21 Tests, losing only three and drawing the remaining seven.

Pakistan's only series win came way back in 2003, on home ground.
Smith's men routed Pakistan 3-0 when the two teams met in South Africa earlier this year, exposing their rivals' fragile batting through pacemen Dale Steyn (20 wickets) and Vernon Philander (15).

Even the dusty and dry pitches and high temperatures of the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistan have been forced to play their home matches since the 2009 terror attack on a Sri Lankan team bus, hold no fears for the South Africans.
The South Africans are using ice-vests to beat the UAE heat and Smith hoped they will also handle the threat of Pakistani spinners, especially Saeed Ajmal, like they did here in 2010.

They drew a two-Test series in the UAE in 2010, with Jacques Kallis hitting successive hundreds, AB de Villiers notching South Africa's then-highest score of 278 not out, and Smith and Hashim Amla also scoring centuries.
They blunted Ajmal so well that Pakistan were forced to leave out the ace spinner after he got only three wickets in the first Test in Dubai.