South Africa v Pakistan 1st Twenty20 Preview
After a great defeat by South Africa by 2-0 in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan is looking forward to take a revenge against South Africa. Pakistan is always a better side when it comes to Twenty20 format. Their brutal pace attack and the ability to break partnerships in the middle part of the game, Pakistan is known for its unpredictable play.
Having said that, they are not playing against an average side but they are playing against the team which has a bunch of best classic and hard hitting batsman seen anywhere in the world! South Africa have the best T20 batsman AB De Villiers and the best T20 bowler Dale Styne! For Pakistan this game is of immense importance to stay in the race of world Cricket.
For Pakistan, they must build themselves in the competition. For that, they must find players who can build Partnerships and simultaneously score big runs. The main problem with Pakistan would be the batting, especially in the middle overs. Openers have the ability to give a solid basement, we have seen it in the past games, but they are failing to take the momentum with them till end. If they want to win the game, their should be a team work rather than depending upon a single batsman or a bowler to take them towards victory.
Another big disadvantage for Pakistan would be the absence of Mohammad Irfan. He was injured in the second game and he might not available in this game too.
Match Info
TOURNAMENT: Pakistan Tour Of South Africa
GAME: SA v PAK First Twenty20 International
DATE: 20th November, 2013
TIME: 16: GMT | 18:00 local | 21:30 IST
VENUE: Johannesburg
WEATHER: 15-21*C
RAIN PROBABILITY: YES, the game could shorten by overs or even worse, could be called off.
SQUAD:
South Africa team squad:
Faf du Plessis (capt.), Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, Imran Tahir, Ryan McLaren, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Henry Davids , Quinton de Kock, David Wiese, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Lonwabo Tsotsobe
Pakistan team squad:
Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez (capt.), Umar Amin, Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Tanveer, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Bilawal Bhatti, Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Anwar Ali, Junaid Khan, Nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq,Bilawal Bhatti.
SA v PAK 1st T20 Prediction
STATISTICS: Pakistan is playing at Johannesburg, which is a favorite venue for Hashish Amla and AB De Villiers. We have seen it in the past that fast bowlers can get a big advantage with the new ball at the venue. So in the bowling point of view, both teams have their best fast bowlers in their squads.
But especially with the likes of Dale Styne and Co. We can say, South Africa can utilize the advantage more than Pakistan. But its not all over for Pakistan, if the bowlers be able to strike early and restrict SA to less than 140 or 150, they might well give a big fight and even clinch victory over South Africa. ( If SA batting first!)
We can also say, if SA bowling first, then chances are very less for Pakistan as SA have all the potential to chase even 170 plus odd runs with the presence of Davids, AB and Du Plessis.
Never forget the rain probability. Match could well ruined by the rain! I hope not, finger crossed!
PROBABILITY:
South Africa: 62%
Pakistan: 38%
OVERALL: SOUTH AFRICA WILL BE THE WINNER AGAINST PAKISTAN ON 20th November, 2013 at JOHANNESBURG.
