Pakistan face South Africa in must-win match at Edgbaston. The two teams are approaching the encounter with contrasting results in their tournament openers. Pakistan received a sever 124-run hammering from India while South Africa outclassed Sri Lanka by 96 runs.
Another defeat will virtually knock Pakistan out of the tournament but it will be a humongous task for them to stop the Proteas, who are ranked number one in the ODI rankings.
Pakistan
Pakistan will be without Wahab Riaz for most likely the rest of the ICC Champions Trophy with an ankle injury. This must win clash against an in-form South Africa Side will need to push Pakistan to produce a much improved overall performance to see any chance of victory. Mohammed Amir’s fitness is also in question after he had to go off the field with cramp but should be fine to take his place in the side. Expect changes to be made with Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman & Junaid Khan the possible players most likely to come into the side.
South Africa
South Africa is coming off a brilliant all-round performance against Sri Lanka and will look to continue momentum against Pakistan. A win will see them through to the Semi Final in group B. Expecting no changes to be made to their side that played Sri Lanka as they look to seal a spot in the Semi-Final.
How The Teams Can Win It
For Pakistan, the old saying goes Catches win Matches and that’s never been truer for Pakistan. Chances against the world no 1 will be few a far between but wickets are a premium and need to be taken when given the opportunity. Sensible batting will also be something they need to work on as they have such a talented batting lineup that underperformed against India.
For South Africa, patience with bat & ball. Pakistan will give opportunities to take wickets and with arguably the best attack in the competition they are capable of doing such thing. Look for Run outs as opportunities will present themselves against Pakistan.
Squads:
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (C), Ahmed Shahzad, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Junaid Khan, Mohammed Amir, Mohammed Hafeez, Shadab Khan and Shoaib Malik.
South Africa: AB de Villiers (C), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Jean-Paul Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius and Kagiso Rabada.
