PAK vs SA head-to-head ODI: Amid the tight schedule for cricket matches throughout the year, the eyes of fans are stuck to a Tri-Series of 4 ODI matches happening in Pakistan. Besides the national cricket team of Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand are also contesting with the intent to win the final match and fly high before Champions Trophy 2025 begins. In the third ODI, both Pakistan and South Africa will try to rebound after losing their first match to New Zealand, which steers the 3rd ODI to be a must-watch thriller.
This time the opponent for Pakistan is the rival team of South Africa. The anticipation is high for this high-stake Pakistan vs South Africa ODI encounter to be played on February 12, 2025 (Wednesday), as the top two teams will battle in the final. The venue of the match is National Stadium, Karachi and the match will begin at 2:30 PM IST.
Led by Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan is placed at the bottom of the points table with a disappointing net run rate of -1.560. Despite standing third from the top in the ICC ODI ranking, the team lost the inaugural match of the Tri-series by 78 runs. Kiwis exploited the weakness of the bowling order, especially in the death overs which crashed the hopes for Pakistan. The batting line-up is tasked with forming formidable partnerships. Seasoned batters and openers Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam are key players to consider as they arrive on the crease to deal with a pace attack. In the bowling unit, the pacer Shaheen Afridi is impressive with the ball having taken 3 wickets in the first match. A less expensive bowler than Afridi emerged as Abrar Ahmed who tried to restrict 2 New Zealand batters at an economy of 4.10.
South Africa has slipped to fifth spot in the ICC ODI ranking. However, after an unassailable defeat to Pakistan in a recent test series by 2-0, the South African team will try to ruin the confidence of the defending champions of the Champions Trophy. Playing under the captaincy of Temba Bavuma, Matthew Breetzke is the batting powerhouse who hits shots aggressively while maintaining his composure on the crease. In the middle order, Wiaan Mulder has the capacity to accelerate the inning while the bowling side relies on a fast bowler Eathan Bosch who does not concede many runs per over. Also, the spin side gets vitality from Senuran Muthusamy. As South Africa has played semi-final matches in big ICC tournaments multiple times and currently maintains a better net run rate (-0.249) than Pakistan, it would not be right to overlook the match winners in this team.
Pak vs SA Head to Head Records
The national teams of Pakistan and South Africa are similar in terms of the green color of the jersey in the ODI format. However, the head-to-head record speaks a different story as South Africa is leading statistically with victory in 52 matches out of 86 matches when the Pakistan team was on the other side. Pakistan could win only 33 matches showing there is a big margin of 19 which counts as a loss against South Africa. One match could not yield any result. The head-to-head stats are in favor of South Africa. However, both teams will be required to focus on regaining the momentum after recent defeats in the Tri-Series.
| Teams | Won | Lost | NR | HS | LS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 34 | 52 | 1 | 351 | 89 |
| South Africa | 52 | 34 | 1 | 392 | 101 |
Pakistan faced South Africa in an ODI match, winning it by 36 runs, for the last time in 2024. South Africa had won the toss and decided to field first. Pakistan posted a giant 308/9 on the scoreboard with the help of a century by Saim Ayub. In a futile response, South Africa could not chase despite a beautiful inning by Heinrich Klassen with 81 runs off 43 balls. The match got interrupted due to rain and the result was based on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method. Roaring with three back-to-back victories elated Pakistan while dramatic turnarounds were part of the match. However, the teams are slightly different now.
The winning side will face New Zealand in the final of the Tri-series. Both teams will attempt to push hard as they will have one more match before the high-powered contest begins a week later. It will be crucial for both teams to prove their efforts and prevent them from crumbling ahead of the prestigious ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
