Pakistan will face South Africa in the decider game of the series to eye a series win. South Africa have a huge pressure as they will play without their five key players including De Kock and Rabada.
Match Timings: April 07, 1:30 PM IST
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Pakistan and South Africa will meet again in the final ODI of the series on Wednesday. The hosts bounced back in the series after a nail-biting 17-runs victory in the second ODI. Fakhar Zaman fought hard single-handily but South Africa managed to level the series. With this victory, Proteas opened their account in the CWC Super League. South Africa and Pakistan both will look for the series victory. The hosts will be without their key players in the final ODI due to their Indian T20 League commitment. Bavuma played a captain’s knock in the second ODI and he will have a big responsibility in this decider game along with Dussen who scored a fine century in the first game.
De Kock and Miller both were outstanding in the last game but they will not be available. Proteas will also miss their pace-attack Nortje, Rabada, and Ngidi. Nortje was excellent with the bowl for South Africa in the first two matches. Markram will take the charge in top-order and Klassen will propel the middle-order. Proteas have the fire despite missing their key batsmen. Janneman Malan and Verreynne can replace De Kock and Miller. The Bowling unit might be problematic and for the first time, they will play without their three front-line pacers. Sipamla has been impressive in red-ball cricket and he will get a game. Beuran Hendricks, Junior Dala, and Mulder would be the other options to try in bowling.
Meanwhile, Pakistan can still look for the positives from the previous defeat but they still require some improvements. Fakhar Zaman scored 193 in the last game, the most by any player while chasing in ODIs. Middle-order failed to draw any attention. After Zaman, the next top score was 31. Pakistan cannot rely on just one individual performance. In the first game, it was Babar and in the second match, it was Fakhar who scored a hundred. Shadab injured himself and he has been ruled out of the series. Asif Ali didn’t deliver in middle-order and management can try either young Haider Ali or experienced Sarfaraz. Usman Qadir might replace Shadab and it will be his debut ODI game. Faheem looked solid in middle-overs and his tight economy is a good sign for Pakistan. They can also look for Hasan Ali to replace Hasnain. Pakistan have the perfect chance to win a series in South Africa. The absence of five key players will surely haunt Proteas and Pakistan are entering as favourites in the series.
Pitch Report
Centurion’s track is a good track for batting but it’s slightly different from Johannesburg. Pacers can take extra help from the pitch. We may expect a score of 270-280 in the first innings. Chasing would be tricky.
Possible XI
Pakistan
Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Danish Aziz, Sarfaraz/Haider Ali, Usman Qadir, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Hasnain/Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf
South Africa
Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen, Verreynne (wk), David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Beuran Hendricks/Sipamla, Junior Dala, Mulder, Tabraiz Shamsi
Key Players
Pakistan
Babar Azam
Since 2019 WC – 386 runs at an average of 77.20
Fakhar Zaman
Since 2019 WC – 279 runs at an average of 69.75
South Africa
Dussen
This series – 182 runs in 2 innings
Heinrich Klaasen
Last ODI series – 242 runs in 3 matches vs AUS
