SA vs PAK: Victory is necessary for Pakistan to remain in the semi-finals

SA vs PAK: Victory is necessary for Pakistan to remain in the semi-finals.

The 26th match of ODI World Cup 2023 will be played today between South Africa and Pakistan. The match will start at 2:00 pm at Chepauk ground in Chennai, the toss of which will be done at 1:30 pm.

South Africa is at second place in the points table after 4 wins in 5 matches. Whereas Pakistan team is at sixth position after losing 3 consecutive matches. Pakistan will have to win all its matches to remain in the race for the semi-finals. At the same time, South Africa seems to be one of the biggest contenders for the tournament.

South Africa's last World Cup win over Pakistan was in 1999.

There were 5 matches between the two teams in the World Cup, South Africa won 3 and Pakistan won 2. After 1999, there were only 2 matches between the two teams, Pakistan won both. These matches were played in 2015 and 2019. Before 2015, there were 3 matches between the two, all were won by South Africa. There were 82 matches between the two teams in ODIs. South Africa won 51 and Pakistan won 30, while one match also remained inconclusive.

Temba Bavuma can play today's match

South African captain Temba Bavuma could not play the team's last two matches due to illness. There are reports of his recovery, so he can replace Reeza Hendricks in today's match. Hendricks has scored one fifty in 2 matches.

Quinton de Kock is the top run scorer of the team in this tournament, he is also the highest run scorer in the tournament. Whereas Kagiso Rabada has taken maximum 10 wickets for the team.

Fakhar Zaman can play today's match

Fakhar Zaman could not play the last 4 matches for Pakistan, Abdullah Shafiq, who was included in his place in the playing-11, has performed well. Fakhar had also fallen ill in the middle, he is now completely fit, hence he can replace Imam-ul-Haq in today's match. On the other hand, Hasan Ali is also ill, Mohammad Wasim Jr. can be included in the team in his place.

Mohammad Rizwan is the team's top run scorer in this tournament, he has scored 302 runs in 5 matches. Whereas Shaheen Shah Afridi has taken maximum 10 wickets for the team.

pitch report

Chepauk's pitch has always been helpful to spinners, due to dew here at night, batting also becomes easier. In the last match, Afghanistan had chased 282 runs against Pakistan here. In such a situation, the team winning the toss may prefer to bowl first.

weather condition

There is no possibility of rain in Chennai today, the wind will blow at a speed of 6 km per hour. The temperature will remain between 26 to 31 degrees Celsius.

Possible playing eleven of both teams

South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Reeza Hendricks/Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Henrik Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansson, Gerald Coetzee/Tabaraiz Shamsi, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. .

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Imam-ul-Haq/Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr/Hasan Ali.