Hosts need to win to stay alive in the series
Pakistan stole a nervy win in the opening ODI, which has left hosts South Africa on the backfoot and one loss away from losing a home-series to Pakistan. As the action moves to Cape Town, here’s our match preview and predictions for the second ODI between South Africa and Pakistan.
South Africa vs Pakistan 2nd ODI | Pakistan tour of South Africa 2024/25 | 17:30 IST, December 19, 2024
Proteas chose to bat and it was a cautious and strong start from Tony de Zorzi and Ryan Rickelton before Salman Agha picked up 4 wickets in 22 balls to leave the hosts reeling at 88-4. Stand-in captain Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen got South Africa out of a spot of bother and it was Klaasen taking South Africa to a respectable 239 with a fighting 86. de Zorzi, Rickelton and Markram all got starts and fell in their 30s, something that they would look to fix in the upcoming game.
With the ball, it was Marco Jansen giving the hosts the early breakthrough and although Ottneil Baartman got a couple of crucial wickets in the middle, the hosts weren’t able to capitalise on a strong start as Pakistan went from 60-4 to 201-5.
For Pakistan, with the ball, it was Salman Agha’s early burst, which had Pakistan on top while Abrar Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi were tight and although they didn’t pick up a host of wickets, they didn’t leak runs either. Although they might have walked away with a 3-wicket win, Pakistan know they have a batting issue. There was a top order collapse with Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan all failing to get going. It was Saim Ayub’s stellar 109 and Salman Agha’s 82*, which eventually got the Pakistan team home.
Like Paarl, Cape Town will provide a lot of assistance for the quicker bowlers while there will be some runs on offer for the batters as well. With Pakistan starting strong, it will be advantage with the visitors once again as they have the momentum and we have Pakistan locking in the series at Newlands.
Fantasy XI: Mohammad Rizwan, Aiden Markram, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Salman Agha, Kagiso Rabada, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Venue: Cape Town
Winners Prediction: Pakistan
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