Pakistan stole a nervy win in the opening ODI, which has left South Africa on the back foot and one loss away from losing a home series.
As the action moves to Cape Town, here are our match preview and predictions for the second ODI between South Africa and Pakistan.
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The Proteas chose to bat first last time out, and it was a cautious and strong start from Tony de Zorzi and Ryan Rickelton before Salman Agha picked up four 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 as Klaasen took his team to a respectable 239 with a fighting knock 86. De Zorzi, Rickelton, and Markram all got starts and fell in their 30s, something that they would want 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, though they didn’t pick up a host of wickets.
Although they might have walked away with a three-wicket win, Pakistan know they have a batting issue. There was a top-order collapse last time out, with Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan all failing to get going. It was Saim Ayub’s stellar 109 and Salman Agha’s 82* that eventually got Pakistan home.
Like Paarl, Cape Town will provide a lot of assistance for the quick bowlers, while there will be some runs on offer for the batters as well. With Pakistan starting strong, it will be advantage Pakistan once again as they have the momentum. We back Pakistan to lock in the series in 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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