Kingsmead, Durban is the venue for the second ODI between South Africa and Pakistan. The game takes place on Tuesday and as far as the series is concerned Pakistan sprang a surprise in the first contest to go 1-0 up with four to play.
The Proteas, who started short price favourites to win the first match, won the toss and opted to bat first at Port Elizabeth on Saturday and they lost just 2 wickets in their 50 over allocation in posting 266/2. Hashim Amla top scored with an unbeaten 108 and Rassie van der Dussen made 93 on debut after Reeza Henfricks fell for 45. Despite keeping all those wickets in tact the acceleration required to take South Africa beyond what was considered to be a par score never materialized and Hasan Ali (1/42) and Shadab Khan (1/41) were the most economical of the visitors bowling unit. The Proteas hit 4 maximums in their innings but at the interval Pakistan were still very much in the game.
In the chase Pakistan put on 45 for the first wicket (Zaman 25) and opening bat Imam ul-Haq was the backbone of the innings, going on to score 86. Babar Azam contributed a valuable 49 and the required run rate only hit 7 per over in the closing stages of the game. Mohammad Hafeez provided the cool head required and at the death he was 71 not out as Pakistan got home with 5 balls to spare and 5 wickets in tact. Pakistan hit 5 maximums in their innings and although Olivier took 2 wickets, he was expensive in conceding 73 from his 10 overs and Imran Tahir’s figures of 1/44 were more impressive.
This was how the teams lined up in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
South Africa: Faf du Plessis(c), Hashim Amla, Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, Rassie van der Dussen
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed(c), Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Usman Khan
Head to Head
Overall the teams have met 74 times with South Africa winning 47, Pakistan 26 and there has been 1 no result.
In South Africa 30 meetings have produced 18 wins for the Proteas, 11 for Pakistan and 1 no result.
The Venue, Kingsmead, Durban
The most recent ODI at this venue saw India comfortably chase down the Proteas bat first total of 269/8 for a 6 wicket victory in February 2018. Faf du Plessis made 120 of the Proteas runs.
Prior to that the Proteas had reeled off 5 successive ODI wins at Kingsmead in getting the better of India (back in 2013) and then WIndies, New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka.
On Pakistan’s tour of South Africa in 2013 the visitors won by 3 wickets, chasing down 235 for victory in a low scoring game.
Selected Betting Markets - Prices from WSB Claim your 1st deposit bonus of up to R10,000 here
Note: Prices are an average of what was available at the time of writing but are subject to change
The Verdict:
I’ll go with Tahir to be top SA bowler. He was arguably the pick of the home sides attack on Saturday despite picking up just the 1 wicket and given we stay in coastal conditions he should be a big factor.
I’ll also take an interest in the top Pakistan bat market with Babar Azam, who played a couple of good knocks in the test series and was also in the runs at the weekend being the pick.
Bets: Top home bowler Tahir at 3/1
Top away bat Babar Azam at 7/2
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