Clash of Pace as Pakistan chase pride, South Africa top spot in Group 2 at SCG

Pakistan Vs South Africa, SCG, Sydney - ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022; Match Preview

Pakistan, are as good as eliminated from the World Cup after back to back defeats to India and Zimbabwe while South Africa come into the match as the only remaining unbeaten team in the tournament.

The top order of Pakistan has stuttered and stumbled as both Babar and Rizwan have found the going difficult. Fakhar who played against the Dutch has been ruled out for aggravating the knee injury so Shan Masood must again come up to number 3. Ifthikhar, Nawaz and Shadab have played interchangeable roles in the middle order and that is likely to continue.

The Proteas batting has looked very good with QDK and Rossouw making big runs against Bangladesh while Markram and Miller did the scoring in a tense chase against India. Temba Bavuma is the player who's out of form though but South Africa seem to be sticking to him for the time being.

Although Sydney traditionally offers more help to the spinners but the quality of pace in both sides is enough to trouble the opposition batters. In the previous games at the venue, the ball has moved under lights making batting difficult with Australia and Sri Lanka both stumbling badly against the Kiwis.

Key Battles: Pakistan vs South Africa

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan Vs Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi

Quinton deKock and Rillee Rossouw Vs Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah

David Miller and Aiden Markram Vs Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan

While Pakistan are only playing for pride, South Africa have the top spot in their sights. A win here practically guarantees them the top spot with their final game against the Dutch. I'm looking forward to the battle between the two best pace attacks in this World Cup. It promises to be a fascinating contest.

Probable Pakistan XI

Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Wasim

Probable South Africa XI

Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi

Top 5 Fantasy Picks for Pakistan v South Africa at SCG, Sydney

Kagiso Rabada

Quinton deKock

Anrich Nortje

Rillee Rossouw

Shadab Khan

The match will start at 01.30 PM IST (streamed live on Disney Hotstar app & on TV on Star Sports 1)

Will Pakistan manage a second win in the World Cup? Will South Africa continue their unbeaten streak?