South Africa vs Pakistan – 1st One-Day International Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is South Africa vs Pakistan taking place? Friday, April 2nd, 2021 – 09:00 (UK)
Where is South Africa vs Pakistan taking place? SuperSport Park, Centurion
What is the expected weather for South Africa vs Pakistan? 26c with sunshine and cloudy intervals
What channel is South Africa vs Pakistan on? The match will be televised live on Sky Sports
Where can I stream South Africa vs Pakistan? The match can be streamed live on the SkyGo app
LAST MEETING
Pakistan beat South Africa by 49 runs
THE TEAM NEWS
SOUTH AFRICA
- South Africa get this one-day series under way against Pakistan knowing they will only have their IPL stars for the opening two games so they will be eager to make a fast start to this three-game series starting at SuperSport Park.
- Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi are all due to depart at the second one-dayer so they will want to do well in this opener to help their national team and carry some form into the IPL.
- This series will see Temba Bavuma take over as white-ball captain so he will be desperate to make a winning start to his tenure and despite some disruption around the CSA in recent times, the players should be fully focused on doing well in this opening match.
PAKISTAN
- Pakistan have not played many 50-over games in recent times as this is their first action of 2021 and they only played three games against Zimbabwe where they won two and tied one, but they will relish returning to a format where they have done well in the last few years.
- They also have a reasonable record in white-ball cricket in South Africa as they will like the conditions in Centurion and skipper Babar Azam has plenty of quality at his disposal which he will have for the entire tour with no players departing to the IPL unlike the hosts.
- Unlike their tour to New Zealand, Pakistan have been staying in a bio-secure bubble rather than having to quarantine and that will surely have a positive effect on the team’s mood coming into this opening game.
THE PREDICTION
This series between South Africa and Pakistan promises to be hugely competitive with little separating the two teams on paper in the format of the game. Both teams have virtually full strength squads at their disposal for this opening ODI and while there remains a clear home advantage, there has been no quarantine for the tourists and Pakistan will likely enjoy the type of pitches they will encounter in SA. The hosts played six ODIs against England and Australia on home soil in 2020 and they won four of those, with one defeat and one no result so that will give them plenty of confidence. With the knowledge that some of their key players are set to depart for IPL duty, they will be keen to hit the ground running and that should just give them the edge here. A close game could be on the cards but South Africa are favoured to win this opener.
