CWC 2023: Pakistan In Do Or Die Situation Ahead Of South Africa WC Match

The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 tournament is getting exciting every day as the points table is changing drastically with every match. The mega cricket tournament turned juicy with the smaller teams creating sensations and the bigger teams losing poorly. The Pakistan team led by Babar Azam will face South Africa in the 26th match of this tournament. The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai will be the venue for this high-voltage match. It will be a do-or-die match for the Pakistan team. The arch-rivals of India definitely need to win against the Proteas to stay in the semis race. If they lose, they will almost be out of this World Cup tournament.

If South Africa wins today, they will be the table topper, as they played more matches than India. India will fall to the second position. Pakistan team won the first two matches but lost the next three matches consecutively. Especially the defeat against Afghanistan in the last match has damaged the self-confidence of Babar’s men. Currently, Pakistani players are under a lot of pressure. Even if the captain is in form, the team is not getting any advantage. Among the bowlers, no one is doing well.

On the other hand, the South African team is very strong. Out of the five matches played, except for the loss against the Netherlands, they won the remaining four matches by a huge margin. Currently second in the points table, the Proteas will reach the top if they win today. All the players in the team are in excellent form. Quinton de Kock scored 174 runs in their last match. The South African bowlers are also doing pretty well.

The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is equally useful for batters and bowlers. This wicket is usually dry so it favours the spinners. But as the match progresses, the pitch slows down a bit. This will make it difficult for the team to bat in the second innings. That is why most teams win the toss and choose to bat first.

South Africa’s World Cup Squad

Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen and Lizaad Williams.

Pakistan’s World Cup Team

Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Wasim.