PAK vs SA Match Preview, Playing XI, H2H

Predicted Playing XI | Pitch & Weather Conditions | Pakistan vs South Africa Match Preview:

Contents

HEAD TO HEAD:WEATHER AND PITCH REPORT: PLAYING XI (PROBABLE): PREDICTION: WHERE TO WATCH:

With each passing day, the competition for reaching the semi-final is getting more tense and tough. Most of the teams are now relying on others to make way for them to the next round. Amidst all the tension and drama, this fixture between Pakistan and South Africa is going to be very important.

Pakistan started their world cup campaign with an unfortunate and surely an unforgettable, narrow defeat at the hands of the Indian team. Babar Azam’s were trying to comprehend the loss against India when they were handed another unexpected defeat by the Chevrons. With this defeat, the world cup campaign for the Pakistani team was damaged beyond repair. With two back to back defeats, struggling openers and unreliable middle order, Pakistan went on to lock horns with their third opponent, Netherlands, where they secured their first win of the tournament. This revived their almost deceased hopes of reaching the top-four round, however, their fate is not entirely in their hands anymore. The Asian giant, Pakistan, will have to rely on others to see their dreams of reaching the semis come true. Nevertheless, they can not afford to lose any of their remaining two matches now, one of which is against the Proteas.

The South African team has the crown of being the only unbeaten team in the tournament on their head. Their first fixture which was washed out, remains the only unpleasant recollection of the tournament they have as of yet. This match is crucial for Bavuma’s men as well though not as much as it is for the Pakistan team. Being the table toppers, they have leeway of slipping one match from their hands without causing any potential damage to their chances of reaching the semi-final. After Pakistan, their next and final match is against Netherlands which will become a must-win should they lose against Pakistan.

HEAD TO HEAD:

The African giant, South Africa and the Asian giant, Pakistan have engaged with each other 21 times on field in T20Is. Out of these 21 encounters, Pakistan dominate² marginally with 11 wins in their bag, while the Proteas have 10 wins.

WEATHER AND PITCH REPORT:

Both of the aforementioned teams are supposed to play against each other at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The weather of Sydney will remain sunny throughout the day. Starting from evening, there is a 40% chance of rain which will be accompanied by winds.

The SCG’s pitch is known as spinner’s paradise as both finger and wrist spinners wreak havoc at this pitch while being highly economical. The pitch provides spinners with a turn which makes it one of the very few pitches down under which assist spinners as much as the pacers.

The bounce, pace and quick outfield makes it a brilliant package for both batters and bowlers. Average score for the side batting first is around 170 at the SCG. The flat track makes it a belter of a pitch and helps batters play fearlessly.

The bounce in early overs will be used by the pacers to remove key players.The straight boundaries are larger than square boundaries, so a batsmen must be vigilant especially while facing spinners.

PLAYING XI (PROBABLE):

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Asif Ali, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah.

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada/Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi.

PREDICTION:

The storm by which the Proteas have taken their opponents in this Tournament so far, is not news to anyone. They have been in a stupendous form with incredible batting and bowling since the start of the mega event. With exception of the African skipper, Temba Bavuma, every South African batsman has been displaying brilliant knocks for their team of late. Their bowling attack has the ability to run through any batting lineup on any given day. To top it all, the Proteas are currently in a vivacious form and to reach the semi-finals they will have to carry the momentum in their outing against Pakistan. This makes them more of a threat. Hence, the Bavuma-led men are easy favourites for this match.