South Africa vs Pakistan Match Preview, 1st T20I

The first T20I in the three-match series between South Africa (SA) and Pakistan (PAK) is set to be played at Kingsmead, in Durban, on Tuesday, December 10. The two powerhouses of cricket have a lot of young faces in their ranks who are looking to make a mark on the international stage. Also, the presence of some of the stalwarts of the game will attract a lot of eyeballs.

South Africa made it to the finals of the T20 World Cup in June but they have not been able to replicate similar success in the subsequent assignments in the shortest format of the game. After suffering a 3-0 hammering at the hands of the West Indies in the Caribbean, the Proteas drew (1-1 margin) a two-match series against Ireland in Abu Dhabi. However, the South African side lost three out of the four T20Is they played against India at home.

In all fairness, the hosts were not at their full strength in any of those series, with many of their experienced names missing out due to various reasons. With a similar trend continuing against Pakistan, the youngsters will hope to step up and assure their fans that the future of the sport is bright in the Rainbow Nation. The explosive wicketkeeper-batter, Heinrich Klaasen, will lead the side in place of the regular Captain, Aiden Markram. It will be interesting to see how the flamboyant wicketkeeper-batter leads the side.

Pakistan had a disappointing T20 World Cup 2024 campaign as they were ousted in the first round after suffering defeats against India and USA. The Men in Green played a three-match T20I series against a depleted Australian side and lost all three games. Recently, Pakistan played three T20Is against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. The Asian giants won the first two games before suffering a narrow defeat in the final encounter. They fielded a young side in this series as only five out of the 17 players in the squad had the experience of playing more than 10 T20Is.

Mohammad Rizwan will return to lead the side after Salman Ali Agha served as the stand-in captain against Zimbabwe. The wicketkeeper-batter will look to win his first series after becoming Pakistan's white-ball captain.

Also Read: South Africa vs Pakistan 2024 News

Match Details

Click Here: South Africa vs Pakistan, 1st T20I - Live Cricket Score

Pitch Report

The Kingsmead in Durban is expected to provide a belter of a surface with a lot of bounce on offer. The new ball might swing around for the first couple of overs and batters will need to be wary. Kingsmead hosted the first T20I between South Africa and India last month and the pitch was on the harder side. India scored 202/8 before bowling out the hosts for 141.

The Indian spinners got a lot of assistance in the second innings. In the 19 T20Is played at this venue, the average first innings score is 170. Nine games have been won by teams batting first while chasing teams have emerged victorious on eight occasions. The highest successful run-chase is 191.

Click Here: South Africa vs Pakistan 2024 Schedule

Head-to-Head Record

Probable Playing XI:

South Africa:

South Africa will be missing the services of Markram, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, and Tristan Stubbs. However, Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi will be returning to the setup for the first time since the T20 World Cup. George Linde, who played his last T20I for the Proteas in July 2021, has made a comeback.

Predicted XI: Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen (wk/c), David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Andile Simelane, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ottneil Baartman/Kwena Maphaka.

Pakistan:

With veterans like Rizwan, Babar Azam, and Shaheen Afridi returning, Pakistan have a fine blend of youth and experience in their squad. Sufiyan Muqeem had a pretty impressive outing against Zimbabwe and he should start as the frontline spinner ahead of Abrar Ahmed. The tourists could tempted to field both spinners together after seeing Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi's success against the Proteas last month.

Predicted XI: Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk/c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Irfan Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufyan Muqeem, Mohammad Hasnain.