South Africa and Pakistan head to Centurion for the third ODI on Friday and the series is now locked up at 1-1 with three matches to play.
After losing the opening match of the series by 5 wickets in Port Elizabeth last weekend the Proteas hit back to level the series with a 5 wicket victory of their own in Durban on Tuesday.
Once again the Proteas started as short priced favourites at Kingsmead and this time they justified those odds although it was a rather strange game. Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to bowl, a decision which paid off as Pakistan crumbled to 112/8. At that stage a very early finish looked highly likely but Hasan Ali, batting at 10, smashed 59 off just 45 balls and skipper Sarfaraz made 41. The Pakistan innings ended on 203 all out after 45.5 overs and the wickets were shared between Andile Phehlukwayo (4), Shamzi (3), Rabada (2) and Olivier (1).
At 29/3 in the chase the Proteas were in trouble and the fourth wicket went down with the score on 80. Rassie van der Dussen stood firm and went on to make an unbeaten 80 to go alongside his 93 on debut at St. Georges and Phehlukwayo was unbeaten on 69 as the Proteas got home in 42 overs.
Phehlukwayo was Man of the Match and Pakistan hit 4 maximums to South Africa’s 2.
This was how the teams lined up in Durban on Tuesday.
South Africa: Faf du Plessis(c), Hashim Amla, Reeza Hendricks, Tabraiz Shamsi, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, Rassie van der Dussen
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed(c), Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Usman Khan
The Proteas could have de Kock and Steyn back in action after they were rested for the first 2 matches. There is another decision to make as Imran Tahir took a break on Tuesday whilst Shamzi performed well in his absence.
Head to Head
Overall the teams have met 75 times with South Africa winning 48, Pakistan 26 and there has been 1 no result.
In South Africa 31 meetings have produced 19 wins for the Proteas, 11 for Pakistan and 1 no result.
The Venue, Supersport Park, Centurion
From November 2013 to February 2017 the Proteas were unbeaten in this format at Supersport Park but in February 2018 they lost both their matches against India at this venue by wide margins. The first of those defeats came by 9 wickets when South Africa were bowled out for just 118 and days later they crashed to an 8 wicket loss when they posted a bat first total of 204.
On Pakistan’s tour of South Africa in 2013 the visitors won by 6 wickets in March but when they returned in November the Proteas came out on top by 4 wickets.
Betting - 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 fancied de Kock to make 50 in the first match before news broke he was to be rested and I’ll stick with that bet on the back of his ton in the final test match.
Bets: Batsman to score 50? De Kock yes at 14/10
Remember you can have your own say on all this week’s matches on our discussion forum
