Image Source: IANS
South Africa will leave no stones unturned to escape the ignominy of a series loss at home when they take on Pakistan in the second ODI of the three-match series at The Wanderers, Johannesburg on Sunday (April 04). The visitors, however, will look forward to carrying the momentum into this game and take an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Temba Bavuma’s tenure as a captain didn’t start the way he would have liked to, and this only adds up an extra burden on his shoulders. Not to forget that things are only going to get worse from thereafter. The Proteas will miss the service of their five first-choice players – Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, David Miller, and Quinton de Kock – for the rest of the matches. All of them will leave the country to join their respective franchises for the IPL 2021.
South Africa has few other boxes to tick as well, the most notable being getting the best out of their opening pair. Now that de Kock is free of the shackles of captaincy, a lot more is expected from a man of his stature. Aiden Markram, who was picked ahead of Janneman Malan in the first match, failed to repay the trust of the team management. He played some glorious shots in the beginning but failed to put up anything substantial with the bat.
Rassie van der Dussen, who scored his maiden century in the last match, adds much-needed stability to a rather shaky and inconsistent batting line-up.
On the other hand, Pakistan lived up to its reputation of making simple things overcomplicated, diverting from the plain highway to the treacherous, twisty, and unpredictable journey towards the destination. With the scorecard reading 181-1 in 31 overs, a comfortable victory was the most probable outcome. But it didn’t take much time and effort to squander away the early advantage, and taking the game to the last ball of their innings.
Skipper Babar Azam scored his 13th century and forged a 177-run stand with the opener Imam-ul-Haq. But Babar’s downfall in the 32nd over triggered a dramatic collapse, as has been the case with Pakistan for quite a few years now.
Still a work in progress, Babar Azam’s men would like to shed the conservatism and adopt a more aggressive approach that has brought tremendous success to some of the top teams in this format.
Team News:
South Africa: With the series at stake, they would not like any changes in the playing XI from the last ODI. South Africa coach Mark Boucher has shown strong faith in Markram’s ability.
Probable XI: Aiden Markram, Quinton De Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Tabraiz Shamsi
Pakistan: Asif Ali is likely to make way for Haider Ali who will bat at No 4. Although Hasan Ali has recovered from COVID-19, the team would not want to rush him into the side.
Probable XI: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Danish Aziz, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain and Haris Rauf