Pakistan and Proteas shoot it out for place in the final
South Africa may have lost their opener against New Zealand in the ongoing tri-series, but there were plenty of positives to be had. Up against a full-strength New Zealand side, the Proteas went down by six wickets, but with just eight balls remaining to be bowled. Matthew Breetzke’s knock of 150 on debut was the highest ever debut score in an ODI, breaking the 47-year-old record that was previously held by Desmond Haynes.
With Pakistan also having been beaten by New Zealand, Wednesday’s encounter between the Proteas and their hosts turns into a straight shoot-out for a spot in the final. the action though moves from Lahore and on to the National Stadium in Karachi.
In total there have been 54 ODI’s played at the National Stadium. There is no difference between batting first or second in Karachi. there have been 26 instances of the side batting first winning and 26 of the side batting second winning. Two games ended with no result.
In terms of choices at toss time, on 30 occasions the winning skipper chose to bat, while 24 times they opted to field first.
Pakistan v South Africa | Tri-Series | Wednesday 12 February 2025 | National Stadium, Karachi | 11:00
Pakistan
Pakistan have played 47 games at the National Stadium, and they have won 25 of them. Their most recent game at the venue was a 2023 loss to the Black Caps.
Pakistan’s highest score at the National Stadium was 353 for six, a score they made against England in 2005.
Harris Rauf limped off injured in the opening game against New Zealand. He may well sit out against South Africa. He has struggled for wickets in recent games, although he did claim the scalp of Tom Latham in the first game before being forced from the field.
Shaheen Shah Afridi picked up three scalps against New Zealand, but he was expensive as well. He returned figures of three for 88 in his ten overs, but he is likely to be the biggest threat with the ball against South Africa. He’s the fourth ranked bowler in the world in the 50 over format
Babar Azam is the top ranked ODI batsman in the world with nine centuries from 59 games. His highest score is 196 but you have to go back to 2022 to find the last time he reached three figures – that was 26 innings ago against New Zealand, but critically it was at the National Stadium in Karachi that he did it.
Fakhar Zaman is the second highest ranked Pakistan batsman. Zaman was out in the cold for a while after falling out with the Pakistan cricket authorities, but he was back at the top of the order in the first ODI of the series where he top scored with 84 off just 69 balls.
South Africa
As much as warming up for the ICC Champions Trophy is an important goal for the competition, the Proteas still have a very second-string side doing duty. The team that lost to New Zealand has been bolstered slightly by the arrival of Corbin Bosch, Kwena Maphaka and Tony de Zorzi. While Mphaka
is only a travelling reserve for the Champions Trophy, the other two are set to play in the tournament and the Proteas will almost certainly want to get them some action ahead of the tournament.
Matthew Breetzke, Eathan Bosch, Mihlali Mpongwana and Senuran Muthusamy all made their debuts in the game against New Zealand. Breetzke made the highest ever score on debut and Muthusamy was the best bowler with a return of two for 50. It would be a big call to drop Breetzke after his sterling efforts in the last game, but the Proteas are likely to try and find game time for those who didn’t play against New Zealand. Expect Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Meeka-eel Prince and Gideon Peters to get runs, along with the new arrivals (Mphaka, Bosch and De Zorzi).
As it’s senior allrounder Wiaan Mulder is a key member of the side. He looked in solid form in Lahore, scoring a brisk 64 at better than run-a-ball. While he didn’t take any wickets, he still kept it tight and bowled with an excellent economy rate of 5.33.
Heinrich Klaasen is South Africa’s top ranked ODI batsman. Currently ranked fifth by the ICC he struggled at the start of the SA20. But he appeared to be coming into form by the end of the event and he will want to build on that form ahead of the Champions Trophy. Klaasen is a good bet to be top scorer for South Africa.
South Africa have played just three ODI’s in Karachi. They have won just once and lost twice. Their lowest score at the venue was 163 for nine when they lost to Pakistan in 1994. Their highest score at the venue was 245 in a losing chase against the West Indies in 1996. That was the last time the Proteas played in Karachi.
Verdict: South Africa
It very much depends on which side the Proteas select. While we know that they are well short of full-strength, if Maharaj, Klaasen and De Zorzi are added to the line-up they could just take it from the home side, who were very disappointing in their opener.
