South Africa vs Pakistan, Pakistan tour of South Africa 2018-19, Today Match Prediction 25 Jan 2019

n/a vs pak Match Prediction & Analysis

Hosts South Africa will be looking to bring their A-game to the table when they face Pakistan in the third game of the one-day series in SuperSport Park, Centurion on Friday. 

South Africa produced an impressive display with the bat and ball to level the five-match one-day series in Durban. With the series evenly poised at 1-1, Skipper Faf du Plessis will be keen to make sure South Africa can put in a pitch perfect performance in this game.

On the other hand, Pakistan batted poorly and lost wickets at regular intervals to post a below-par score in Durban. Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed will be hoping that the batting lineup can learn from their mistakes and make significant improvements in the third game of the one-day series.

TEAMS PREVIEW

South Africa Preview

The home side came back strongly in the second game of the one-day series to beat Pakistan courtesy of splendid performances from Rassie van Der Dussen and Andile Phehlukwayo. 

Opener Quinton de Kock is expected to come into the playing XI after being rested for the first two games of the one-day series. De Kock will replace Reeza Hendricks, who was slotted at the top of the innings alongside Hashim Amla. The wicket-keeper will be looking to get off to decent start in the one-day series in Centurion.

Hashim Amla will be keen to score runs for South Africa after a rare failure in the previous game played at Durban. Amla certainly loves playing at SuperSport Park and is averaging 67. 61 with the bat. He has scored five centuries at this ground and would love to get another one against Pakistan on Friday.

Rassie van der Dussen showed impeccable temperament and ability to produce a match-winning 80 runs for South Africa. He was certainly instrumental in South Africa beating Pakistan in Durban to level the one-day series. He also provided support and encouragement to all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo, who produced his best effort with the bat in the previous game.

Skipper Faf du Plessis will be keen to spend some time at the crease after not doing much with the bat in the previous game. South Africa will be hoping that du Plessis can score runs in this game. David Miller needs to produce consistency with the bat required by South Africa in the limited-overs cricket.

Andile Phehlukwayo certainly made a strong case for being named as premier all-rounder in the South African setup. He had an incredible game with bat and ball against Pakistan. He picked up four wickets to see South Africa restrict Pakistan to just 203 runs. Phehlukwayo also chipped with his career-best batting performance to help South Africa win the game by five wickets. Dale Steyn is all set to make his return to the playing XI and will replace Dane Paterson, who failed to create an impact in the previous game played in Durban.

Duanne Olivier has been enforcer for South Africa with the ball so far in this series. He has produced short-pitch deliveries at will and caused a lot of problems to Pakistani batsmen with his steep bounce. Kagiso Rabada delivered a much improved performance with the ball in Durban. Imran Tahir and Tabraiz Shamsi will fight it out for a place in the XI. 

South Africa Predicted Playing XI:

Quinton de Kock/Reeza Hendricks, Hashim Amla, Rassie van der Dussen, Faf du Plessis (Captain), David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dale Steyn/Dane Paterson, Duanne Olivier, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir/Tabraiz Shamsi.

South Africa Actual Playing XI:

Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock, Tabraiz Shamsi, Reeza Hendricks, DW Steyn, David Miller, Kagiso Rabada, Andile Phehlukwayo, Hashim Amla, B Hendricks, Faf du Plessis

Pakistan Preview

The visitors will really need to dig deep after another abject batting performance on the tour. Clearly, Pakistani batsmen have failed to counter the short-pitch stuff produced by South African pace trio in this series.

Opener Fakhar Zaman will need to come with a plan to deal with short-pitch bowling. He is a premier batsman for Pakistan at the moment. He certainly needs to spend time at the crease and play out the initial Powerplay overs in a cautious manner.

Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez will need to score runs for Pakistan in this game. Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed needs to bat higher in the order as he once again saved Pakistan from getting dismissed for less 150 runs in the previous game. He once again batted positively and added 90 odd runs with tail-ender Hasan Ali to see Pakistan post 203 runs in their innings.

Pakistan might make changes to their playing XI for the game in Centurion. Hussain Talat and Faheem Ashraf might be replaced by Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir.

Shaheen Shah Afridi was the standout bowler for Pakistan in the second game of the series. Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan also bowled well in patches in the previous game.

Pakistan Predicted Playing XI:

Sarfaraz Ahmed (Captain), Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Amir/Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim/Hussain Talat.

 

Pakistan Actual Playing XI:

Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Babar Azam, SI Wasim, Mohammad Amir, F Zaman, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Shaheen Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed

Weather Conditions

Traditionally, the pitch at SuperSport Park is expected to be good one for batting. The home side would really want a surface that has a lot of pace in it. The weather forecast for the game on Friday will see thunderstorms in the evening. The rain might play a role in this contest.

Venue

The SuperSport Park always provides pace and bounce for the fast bowlers. In recent times, the venue has been on the slow side and provides assistance to the spinners.

Toss: To Bowl

The side that wins the toss would like post big runs on the board. The last two games have been won by side batting second.