Pakistan vs South Africa Preview & Prediction | 1st T20 International

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Preparations for the T20 World Cup next year are well under way and both Pakistan and South Africa will use this series to experiment with their line-ups

Date & time:

Venue: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Pakistan

Weather: 26c with sunny and clear skies forecast all day

How to watch: UK – PCB Live / USA – Willow TV

Pakistan vs South Africa prediction

This is a fascinating time for Pakistan as they have recalled Babar Azam to their squad for this series with the former captain not having played the format since May. They have named a relatively strong squad and they will be hoping to build some momentum on home soil. Skippered by Salman Agha, they come into this with solid enough form but their only series wins since 2022 have come against West Indies, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Ireland.

They take on a South Africa side that are rotating themselves and have rested some key players for this series. The likes of David Miller, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs and Kagiso Rabada are all out of the squad and that will see them hand opportunities to some of their fringe players.

Quinton De Kock does however return to the fold ands it will be interesting to see how the veteran performs on his return. They do however look relatively light in the bowling department which will likely be led by Lungi Ngidi, Nandre Burger and Kwena Maphaka.

The home side have to be favoured here given South Africa’s team news. That said, it is always hard to have much confidence in Pakistan. Our play here is on runs and we like Sahibzada Farhan to continue his fine form with the bat from the Asia Cup.

Pakistan vs South Africa tip: Sahibzada Farhan to score 20+ runs