Saturday sees South Africa and Pakistan move on to the third and final match of their three-match T20I series. This tour includes a Test series that was drawn (1-1) and a three-match ODI series that begins on November 4.
The match will take place at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, the same venue as yesterday’s 2nd T20I, which Pakistan won convincingly. The series is tied at 1-1, so Saturday’s match becomes the decider.
Here is a look ahead at the contest.
Pakistan VS South Africa Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Pakistan VS South Africa Date: Saturday, November 1
Pakistan VS South Africa Odds:
History
This is a typical South Africa versus Pakistan series in how the squads have been selected. While it is being billed as a build-up towards the T20 World Cup, that tournament is still four months away, with bags of cricket to be played in the interim.
Once again, South Africa is taking on Pakistan with a mixture of veterans and youngsters, first and second string. This is typical of how these series have been over the past decade, with the management team working to manage minutes and any injury concerns.
The first and second T20Is saw Pakistan win the toss and elect to field. While South Africa was able to play out its overs in the first match, scoring 194 runs on the Proteas’ way to a 55-run win, the second T20I played out differently.
South Africa was never able to get its innings started. The three top-order batsmen combined for just 14 runs, including Reeze Hendricks falling for a two-ball duck. Dewald Brevis at No. 4 battled to 25, but the run rate was never good, and wickets continued to fall.
Set a score of 111 to win, Pakistan exploded out of the gates. Saim Ayub finished unbeaten on 71, with Sahibzada Faehan taking the only wicket lost. The nine-wicket victory was completed in just 13 overs.
Pakistan
Babar Azam only needed to score 11 runs on Friday to help Pakistan win, but they were a significant 11 runs in cricketing history.
While he has been in and out of the team the last 12 months, mostly out, those runs mean that Azam is now the highest run-scorer in the history of men’s T20Is.
He will be looking for a big score (if needed) on Saturday to celebrate.
South Africa
Corbin Boash has been South Africa’s best bowler in this series, taking five wickets in the two matches. South Africa will need some of their other bowlers to stand up in Lahore after the Pakistani top order blasted them on Friday.
Best Bets
The 24-hour turnaround is something to note here. These are professional athletes, so they should be able to recover and be ready for the game, but any player who picked up a slight injury on Friday has basically zero time to manage it.
Hendricks is in good form, so it was a shock to see him go so cheaply in the second T20I. He is now 6/1 sixth favorite to be the best bat on display, and I love him in that spot with a point to prove.
