Pakistan vs South Africa LIVE: Today the teams of South Africa and Pakistan will face each other in the 2023 World Cup. This match will be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. This match is no less than do or die for Babar Azam’s team. Actually, Pakistan will have to win this match at any cost to keep the hopes of semi-finals alive. If Pakistan team loses in this match then it will be out of the race for the semi-finals.
South Africa is at second place in the points table. Whereas Pakistan team is in sixth place. Africa has won four out of five matches. Whereas Pakistan team has won only two matches out of five matches. In such a situation, if Babar Azam’s team has to reach the semi-finals from here, then it will have to win all its remaining matches.
Pakistan has not lost to South Africa in the World Cup for 24 years
Before the do or die contest, one figure seems to be in favor of Pakistan. Although, on paper, South Africa looks the stronger of the two teams, but Pakistan team has not lost to South Africa in the last 24 years in any format of the World Cup (including ODI and T20).
Pakistan had given a crushing defeat to South Africa in the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups. The last time Pakistan team lost to South Africa was in 1999. This figure is reassuring to Babar Azam. However, if Pakistan wants to win against South Africa in Chennai, it will have to put in all its efforts.
Big changes may happen in Pakistan team
Pakistan’s star fast bowler Haris Rauf has looked ineffective in this World Cup. He is continuously performing poorly. In such a situation, Mohammad Wasim Jr. may get a chance in his place in the team today. Apart from this, Fakhar Zaman may also return to the team in place of opener Imam Ul Haq. There is a possibility of Agha Salman also getting a chance in place of Saud Shakeel.
Pakistan’s probable playing eleven- Fakhar Zaman/Imam ul Haq, Abdullah Shafiq, Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Agha Salman/Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz/Hassan Ali, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Wasim Jr.
Probable playing eleven of South Africa- Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (captain), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lizaad Williams/Tabariz Shamsi.