🏏ICC Men's T20I WC 2022 -Pak vs RSA, M-36th, Super 12 Group 2🏏

🏏ICC Men's T20I WC 2022 -Pak vs RSA, M-36th, Super 12 Group 2🏏

Precariously-placed Pakistan meet South Africa in pacer-led battle!

A win for Pakistan keeps them in contention for a semi-final, victory for South Africa ensures their final-four spot.

It's not quite the quarterfinal we were hoping for, but the clash between South Africa and Pakistan has a lot of riding on it for both sides.

A win for South Africa will guarantee them a place in the final four - even before they've played their last group fixture against the Netherlands - while Pakistan have to win to keep their chances of progressing alive.

At a venue that has offered something for seamers, and with a quartet in each camp, this has all the makings of a classic in an already eventful World Cup.

South Africa are the only unbeaten side and would've had a full house of points had weather not intervened on their victory march against Zimbabwe.

The same Zimbabwe then stunned Pakistan, who crashed to their second defeat after losing to India. Watching how Zimbabwe have unraveled since then would've left Pakistan asking themselves a few questions about where they went wrong, and they don't have to look too far for answers.

Pakistan have not been able to score enough runs and have not scored them very quickly either. While South Africa's problem in that department stops with Temba Bavuma, Pakistan's travels through their top-order. They will want to be able to find ways of either being imposing upfront, or giving their middle-order more of an opportunity.

Luckily for Pakistan, they can issue the same warning to South Africa. Their attack has also been labeled the best in the tournament (albeit by their own leg spinner Shadab Khan) and as Shaheen Shah Afridi continues to find his rhythm post-injury, they could match South Africa pound-for-pound!!

Pakistan also have one clear advantage.

They've had the best of South Africa in T20s recently, winning both the home and away series against them in 2021.

They've also come out on the right side every time they've met at a T20 World Cup, but they haven't played in a decade.

Sometimes history matters, sometimes current pressure overrides that.

Both teams have plenty to play for, and it may hinge on who stays at the moment longer.

Form guide:: (last five completed matches, most recent first)

South Africa W W W L L

Pakistan:W L L W W

South Africa: : (possible) 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Temba Bavuma (capt), 3 Rilee Rossouw, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Anrich Nortje 10 Lungi Ngidi/Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Kagiso Rabada.

Pakistan: 1 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3 Shan Masood, 4 Asif Ali, 5 Iftikhar Ahmed, 6 Shadab Khan, 7 Mohammed Nawaz, 8 Mohammed Wasim, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Naseem Shah.

Pitch and conditions

This match will be played on the same pitch as the Sri Lanka-New Zealand game, where Trent Boult took a career-best 4 for 13. There's expected to be something in it for the quicks but also plenty of opportunities to score big. Sydney is the only venue at the tournament where teams have breached 200. The best news is that there's no chance of rain at all, with the temperatures in the mid-teens.

Originally posted by: Viswasruti

South Africa: : (possible) 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Temba Bavuma (capt), 3 Rilee Rossouw, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Anrich Nortje 10 Lungi Ngidi/Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Kagiso Rabada.

Pakistan: 1 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3 Shan Masood, 4 Asif Ali, 5 Iftikhar Ahmed, 6 Shadab Khan, 7 Mohammed Nawaz, 8 Mohammed Wasim, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Naseem Shah.

Pitch and conditions

This match will be played on the same pitch as the Sri Lanka-New Zealand game, where Trent Boult took a career-best 4 for 13. There's expected to be something in it for the quicks but also plenty of opportunities to score big. Sydney is the only venue at the tournament where teams have breached 200. The best news is that there's no chance of rain at all, with the temperatures in the mid-teens.

Pakistan jeete toh we're secure to go into the Semis na?

Stats and trivia

Pakistan have a 3-0 win record against South Africa at the T20 World Cup, even though they last met in 2012.

The average first innings score in Sydney at this tournament so far is 188, the highest of the venues used.

Quotations---

"Experience is a really valuable thing. In the previous game, we were in a little bit of trouble, there was a lot of pressure to win the game and it's just about slowing the process down and understanding what is required right now. In the past we maybe could have got a little hasty. It's just trying to weather the storm"

David Miller is South Africa's most capped T20I player and he believes his years in the game are starting to count

"Everyone is professional and everyone knows about oneself. We lose against India, but I don't think anyone is thinking about the India game because as a professional you can't think about the past when you lose, then especially, you can't be thinking that. After the India match, everyone was positive."

Pakistan's defeat to India is not still on their minds, according to Naseem Shah.

The average first-innings score at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the tournament reads 188, indicating a good batting track. There is ample help on offer for both the pacers and spinners, who have picked 31 and 23 wickets, respectively, in four matches. All of the games at the venue have been won by the team batting first in the tournament, although chasing should still be the preferred option.

Matches won by teams batting first: 4

Matches won by teams bowling first: 0

1st-innings score: 188

2nd-innings score: 109

Originally posted by: Deltablues

Pakistan jeete toh we're secure to go into the Semis na?

Originally posted by: Viswasruti

High chances are there. 😃

What are the chances of India going to the SF if Pak wins or SA wins?

Thanks for the tag. 🤗

Pakistan will officially get out of world cup today 😆

Thanks for the tag Madhu.🤗

May the best team win.

Cheers..