The Proteas went down in an absolute thriller in Boland on Tuesday evening. The sides meet again this evening at Newlands where the South Africa will need to win to keep the series alive. Jonhenry Wilson previews.
South Africa v Pakistan – Second ODI
Thursday 19 December 2024 – 14:00
Newlands, Cape Town
The opening game of the ODI series between South Africa and Pakistan went the way of the tourists in Paarl on Tuesday night. It was a lot closer than it needed to be, and it’s likely that neither side was entirely happy with their performance. The action moves to Newlands on Thursday, and both teams will be hoping to show improvements.
Newlands has always been a venue for batting first. Going back all the way to the days of Benson and Hedges Night Series Cricket, if you win the toss under lights at Newlands, you bat. That’s unlikely to change on Thursday.
Cape Town is famous for its good crowds. It’s holiday season in the Cape so it is likely that Newlands will be packed and that the game will play out with a typically festive feel.
To Win Match
South Africa 52/100 | Tie 25/1 | Pakistan 31/20
It’s safe to say that Proteas’ batsman Rassie van der Dussen like Newlands. He has played four innings at the ground and only been dismissed one. It’s wonderful for his stats as he can claim a 168-run average at the venue.
Spinner Keshav Maharaj, South Africa’s highest-ranked ODI bowler pulled up injured during warm-up for the first ODI. He has a groin strain. It’s unlikely he will feature in the ODI series, but the home side will be buoyed by the performance of Tabraiz Shamsi – he took one for 54 in his ten, but it was his spell towards the death that had the Pakistan batsmen in trouble as he appeared to find his mojo.
Aiden Markram appears to be batting his way back to form slowly but surely. He’s still not dominating bowling attacks for sustained periods, but he looks like he could be ready for another score. He averages a healthy 57 at Newlands.
Newlands tends to favour the quicker bowlers over the spinners and Kagiso Rabada has a good record at the venue – which is his base during the SA20 competition. Of the current crop of players, he’s the leading wicket-taker at the venue with 12, but don’t discount Andile Phehlukwayo who is also fond of the venue and has nine scalps.
Nobody predicted the bowling performance of Salman Agha who claimed four for 32 to win eth man of the match award. Primarily in the side as a batsman (where he did well with an undefeated knock of 82) he ripped the Proteas top-order apart. The Proteas will undoubtedly be better prepared for his seemingly innocuous off-breaks, but he will have taken huge confidence from his all-round performance in Paarl.
Haris Rauf’s troubled tour continued in Paarl. Once again, he failed to take a wicket – which means he is wicketless since arriving in the country. A sign of his lack of confidence was the catch he dropped in the field. Although it didn’t cost much as Marco Jansen departed soon after, it was one of the simplest catches possible and he shelled it.
When Pakistan arrived in South Africa it was Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan who were touted as the big threats with the bat. Saim Ayub, who scored a fantastic century in Paarl has shown that he is the next big thing. Coming off the back of his undefeated 98 in the second T20I he smote a delightfully controlled 109 from 119 balls to secure the win for Pakistan. He’s now averaging 64.83 in ODI cricket.
Verdict: South Africa 52/100
The know they need to be better with the bat than they were in Paarl, and they will be. Newlands is a favourite venue for many of the players – some who play their SA20 cricket for MI Cape Town and others who play for the Cobras – and they will fancy their chances at the venue. The toss may make a difference though…
