South Africa and Pakistan will take on each other again, after their recent encounter in UAE. The return tour featuring two Twenty20s and three One Day Internationals (ODIs) will be played at the Proteas' home turf.
Where to Watch Live:
The first T20 match will begin at 9:30 pm IST (16:00 GMT) at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on Wednesday. The match will be telecast live on Super Sport 2 and Ten Cricket. For live streaming, log on to Super Sport official website.
Overview:
South Africa come into the contest after defeating Pakistan 2-0 in the recently concluded tour of the United Arab Emirates. They also won the ODI series 4-1, which ensures they will be high on confidence.
On the other hand, Pakistan are on the backfoot, after the humiliating series defeat in UAE. The absence of strike bowler Mohammad Irfan, who suffered an injury in the previous encounter with South Africa, will be a huge blow to their bowling department.
Previous Meetings:
South Africa have 5-4 win-loss record against Pakistan in the nine T20 matches played so far.
Team News:
While South Africa has retained the squad that won both T20 matches in UAE, Pakistan has included fast bowler Anwar Ali and allrounder Bilawal Bhatti in the squad, after Irfan was ruled out. Wahab Riaz has been shown the door, following poor performance in the ODI series.
Preview:
South Africa dominated throughout the series in UAE, winning the first T20 match by nine wickets and the second by six wickets. The Proteas looked strong both in batting and bowling departments. Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla contributed with the bat, while Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Wayne Parnell and Imran Tahir shone with the ball.
The hosts are clear favourites going into the series.
Pakistan are in dire straits both in batting and bowling departments. None of the batsmen scored big in the recent series, which is a worrying factor. A few of them are also expected to be asked to step down, if they fail to perform in this series. The absence of Irfan will cause a vacuum in the bowling department, as the pitch in Johannesburg is expected to assist fast bowlers.
It will be a herculean task for Pakistan to bounce back and avenge the defeat they faced in the home series.
Prediction:
South Africa are favourites to win.
Squads:
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (capt.), Hashim Amla, Henry Davids , Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, David Wiese, Imran Tahir, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.
Pakistan squad for ODI and T20: Mohammad Hafeez (T20 captain), Misbah-ul-Haq (ODI captain) Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Tanveer, Anwar Ali, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq, Bilawal Bhatti.
