With the Champions Trophy just around the corner, Pakistan and South Africa will face off in the first ODI of the crucial 3-match series at Boland Park, Paarl.
Match Preview:
Pakistan’s tour of South Africa has started in the worst way possible – albeit it wasn’t unexpected. In the two completed T20i fixtures, the visitors were out-bowled, out-batted, and outclassed by a rampant South Africa side missing some of the familiar names. In a year that included an abysmal World Cup campaign, Pakistan ended up losing 17 T20is – the most they have lost in the shortest format in one calendar year.
But the T20i series is now done and dusted and the two teams can now shift their attention to the 50-over format. In case you are wondering about the pertinence of this bilateral series, remember the Champions Trophy is just two months away (although there is no certainty around the venues and the schedule is yet to be announced).
For the home side, which has announced a strong squad for the series, this is a chance to end the calendar year on a high as far as the white-ball format is concerned. A number of key players including Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, and Kagiso Rabada will return to action having missed the T20 series last week.
The news from the South African camp is that Bavuma will not be part of the playing XI for the opening game and it will be Markram who will lead the Proteas.
The 50-over format suits Pakistan the most, and having recently secured two successive series wins – including a historic 2-1 triumph in Australia – the visitors will be itching to record their first victory of this tour. But as always, there is never a dull moment if you are a fan of Pakistan cricket. After Gary Kirsten resigned earlier this year, their red-ball coach Jason Gillespie has also parted ways with PCB claiming a serious lack of communication among both parties. Will the visitors be able to silence the outside noise and put on a show to stun South Africa?
During the ODI series in Australia last month, everything Mohammad Rizwan touched turned to gold. The decision to play without any specialist spinner and the risk of entering the park without any 5th specialist bowler worked absolutely perfectly for Rizwan XI with no Australian innings lasting longer than 35 overs. Get ready for some scintillating action if Pakistan opts for the same strategy that proved so successful in Australia.
Probable Playing XIs
With Bavuma not available for the first ODI, Markram will take over the captaincy duties.
South Africa: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Temba Bavuma (c), 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 David Miller, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Andile Phehlukwayo, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Kwena Maphaka, 11 Keshav Maharaj
While the Green Shirts were missing a lot of the first-choice players in Zimbabwe, they have the services of the key players now.
Pakistan: 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Rizwan, 5 Tayyab Tahir, 6 Salman Ali Agha, 7 Irfan Khan, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar Ahmed
Pitch and Weather Report:
While it might remain overcast for durations of the game, there is no prediction of rain and the weather is expected to be ideal for a thrilling day-night fixture.
Head-to-Head Record:
Out of 83 games played between the two sides in this format, South Africa have clinched 52 ODIs while Pakistan have come out victorious 30 times.
Prediction:
On South Africa’s home turf, it will be a gigantic effort from the men in green to claim a series win, especially after such a lackluster performance in the T20i series. Proteas are welcoming back a number of first-choice players, so everything is in their factor to clinch this opening fixture.
