Pakistan vs South Africa CWC 2023

This is a chance for the Proteas to ensure they are in the race for that number 2 spot on the table. At the same time, Pakistan is hanging by an excellent thread. Both teams will go for the kill on 27 October 2023 in Chennai. You will get all the good stuff like you always have in this article for this particular match, whether it is the match preview or the highlights at the end. Do turn the notifications on, because we are on the move here

Read: ICC Cricket World Cup points table 2023

Pakistan vs South Africa Live streaming

If you are a Pakistan cricket team fan, you already have a heart of stone. Otherwise, you can’t just continue watching these matches. Pakistan cricket team fans have seen the worst. This is nothing. If you want to catch this match live, there are many options for live streaming.

• Tamasha
• ARY Zapp
• Daraz App
• Tamsha website
• Tampad.

For the viewers in the Middle East, you can watch South African batters hit Rauf out of the park on Starzplay. And if you are on any other side of the planet, you can read our live-streaming blog and check out where you can watch this match.

Read: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Live Streaming

South Africa’s tournament so far

South Africa is having a field trip so far. Other than the debacle at Netherlands vs South Africa CWC 2023, the Proteas are doing more than fine. And this is what we have predicted in our article before as well. They are the best when it comes to the group stages. You cannot forget the England vs South Africa CWC 2023 match, where they won against the defending champions by 229 runs margin. Cricket is at its peak so far.

Read: South African Team for ICC World Men’s World Cup 2023

Pakistan’s struggle for the top four

Pakistan is struggling to keep its spot in the top four. They can barely reach the semi-finals if the heavens are on their side. And to do that, they must win all their remaining matches. The situation would have been better for them if England had won the England vs Sri Lanka CWC 2023 game.

However, Sri Lanka dominated the game and took over the number 5 spot away from Pakistan. This means Pakistan is further away from the knockout stage.

The India vs Pakistan CWC 2023 game has hurt their morale. But nothing is hurting them more than the Pakistan vs Afghanistan game. They have to change their mindset. But is that easy?

But this is the beauty of Pakistan cricket. They are so unpredictable that you can expect them to jump back even from this.

Check: Pakistan Squad for ICC World Cup 2023 [Announced]

Match preview

Pitch report

It’s the Chennai pitch again. It was the exact spot where they got humiliated by Afghanistan. The spinners weren’t doing anything out of the blue. Just bowl at a tight line and length, and Pakistani batters gave them wickets.

Now that they will face South Africa, it will be a bit better. The Pacers won’t be getting that much help. South Africans only have to manage Usama Mir and Shadab, while Pakistan only has to take on Keshav Maharaj.

But this is a very bold statement, considering that Pakistani batters are going through some troubles while the South African pace attack is at full throttle.

Key players

Rizwan is going to be the key player for Pakistan in this match. He has been the top run scorer for the men in green. Rizz is averaging almost 63 in this tournament. If you talk about the bowling, Pakistan has seen much better days. But if you ask me, Usama Mir can do something if they continue with him in this match.

Klaasen and Jansen will be a meance for Paksitan team. But you cannot write off de Kock. He has consistently scored a ton of runs against Pakistan. Nobody can forget those horrible times when he was in his early days and scored those runs in the Pak vs SA Tests.

Possible playing 11

Pakistan is struggling to find the correct form of its players. There will be some changes, but not the way you anticipated. Hasan Ali has fallen ill, the reports say. He was a bit better than the other pacers. And if he can’t make it, things will worsen for Pakistan. Wasim Jnr can fill in for him, but is he the best choice right now? Fakhar may also join since he is fit, and Imam is not performing.

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmad, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr.

South Africa will probably continue with their winning combo from the last match.

Predictions

South Africa is going to win it. They have a much higher chance of winning this match. If Pakistan cannot contain them, they will score more than 350, which is likely. And it will get hard to chase this score with a South African pace attack in the opposition. And if Pakistan decides to defend a total, their bowlers are in a rough shape. Bad news for the men in green.

Highlights

Pakistan won the toss, and they chose to bat first. Letting South Africa chase was the only way they could have contained them. But did it work? Sort of, Kind of.

First Innings – Pakistan

• This score appears to be significantly below par.
• The spinners had some help. However, Pakistan suffered some self-inflicted wounds.
• Rizwan began, Babar began, Iftikhar began, Shakeel began, and even Shadab began. However, none of them made it past the age of 52.
• Pakistan were eventually knocked out in the 47th over.
• They have 270 points on the board. When Shakeel and Shadab were batting well, it appeared like they would easily reach 300. As a result, 30-40 runs light.
• Shamsi had a four-for-four performance. Jansen hit three consecutive home runs, allowing Pakistan to break clear.
• People also frown upon the management’s decision to send Ifti ahead of Saud. And it is a mess. It would have been a lot better if Pakistan could bat till the 50 overs.
• Their worries in the batting department continue. If we keep in mind their current bowling form, South Africa will finally break their losing streak against Pakistan in the world cups.

Second Innings – South Africa

• Pakistan displayed pure emotion on the other end of the spectrum. The MA Chidambaram stadium witnessed a thriller.
• Chasing 271 under lights, de Kock appeared to be on track to complete the innings in 30 overs, but he holed out to a pull, and Pakistan continued to take wickets at regular intervals to fight back into the game.
• But Aiden Markram remained tall and appeared destined to lead his team home, but he, too, fell at the wrong time, and Pakistan were favourites when the eighth wicket went. Ngidi, on the other hand, stayed and saw off a couple of threatening balls with Maharaj.
• When Ngidi went, it was Pakistan’s game again, but Maharaj and Shamsi wisely saw off the three pacers, while Babar was hampered by the need to put on a spinner.
• When Nawaz appeared, Maharaj pounced. In the middle of all this, there was drama when Shadab was hit on the head, and Usama Mir came on and got two key wickets.
• There were cramps for Wasim Jr near the end, and it was South Africa who kept their composure at the most vital time to win.
• Pakistan battled hard and fought to the last ball but couldn’t grab that coveted last wicket, even though Rauf would be disappointed that the ump’s ruling for LBW off Shamsi was overturned.
• It was very brave of Babar to make these bold decisions. People will debate whether he should have given Usama a chance to take a wicket. But it’s no use crying over spilt milk.

Man of the match

Tabraiz Shamsi came for a specific job, and the job is done. You could argue that Aiden Markram should have gotten this MOTM award. However, he got an easier target to chase thanks to Shamis’s 4 wickets. What a high-octane match it was. This was the match this tournament needed. Pakistan is the top side to entertain!