South Africa vs Pakistan (Third ODI): What Can the Proteas Gain Today?

The third and final ODI against Pakistan is being played at Supersport Park in Centurion and with Pakistan having already bagged their first ODI series win on South African soil on Wednesday, the Proteas are staring at the rather uncomfortable possibility of a whitewash. We can report that AB de Villiers again won the toss and elected to bat, and that Pakistan are currently batting:

Scorecard from http://live.cricbuzz.com

PAK 56/3 (13.0 Ovs) Sohaib Maqsood* 20 (28) Misbah-ul-Haq 2 (7) RSA Wayne Parnell* 1-0-3-0 Ryan McLaren 2-0-10-1 CRR 4.31   Partnership 8(12) Last Wkt U Amin 25(35)

Last 5 overs Runs 25 Wickets 1 Fours 5 Sixes 0

Apart from going down 3-0 (a whitewash) in this home ODI series against Pakistan, what is there for the Proteas to gain today?

I personally think that today is extremely important for a few players like David Miller who has not scored much runs of late. Hopefully he will be moved up the batting line-up to get sufficient time in front of the stumps. Philander and Parnell get another opportunity to prove what they can do in ODI's, therefore they have to take this opportunity with both hands, because they have been in and out of the team in the last few seasons.

Hopefully the Proteas can bounce back and win this last ODI to give them some sort of confidence before they take on the formidable India. What do you predict will be the result of today's encounter at Centurion?

Proteas Have It All to Do Tomorrow at St George's Park (Wednesday, 27 November 2013)

Pakistan has never beaten the Proteas in an ODI series in South Africa, which is why the South Africans and captain AB de Villiers have to ensure that they bounce back after their mediocre performance(s) over the weekend at Newlands. (They lost the 2nd T20 there on Friday night as well!)

The Port Elizabeth pitch is perfectly suited for the quality spin attack of the visitors, but South Africa recently beat Pakistan in the UAE where they encountered similar conditions; therefore, it should pose no serious problems for AB and his troopers. This is the perfect venue for the Proteas own first-class spinner, Imran Tahir to shine and show what he can do on the local batting surfaces.

I think that if AB wins the toss he would surely decide to bat first and go out to post a decent, and very competitive total. (see stats below to see why!) 

Here are the ODI statistics that matter the most at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth:

Average 1st innings score at St Georges Park is 233

Average 2nd innings score at St Georges Park is 194

Highest Score Chased at St Georges Park is 330

Lowest Score Defended at St Georges Park is 171

Matches Won Batting First at St Georges Park is 18

Matches Won Bowling First at St Georges Park is 15

What do you predict will happen in tomorrow's encounter - will Pakistan make it 2-0 or will SA make it 1-1?

First ODI - SA vs Pakistan: What a Poor Showing By Proteas At Newlands

The scorecard tells the full story! The Protea bowlers did a great job in restricting Pakistan, who batted first after winning the toss, to a very mediocre 218. At Newlands, in the past, it has been difficult to chase low scores like this, but then there were usually something "else" in the pitch conditions that made it somewhat tricky to score freely.

Yesterday, it was a combination of poor batting by South Africa, with Jacques Kallis top scoring on his return to the ODI side with 50, and some great bowling by Pakistan. Duminy (49) was the only other batsmen to make a noteworthy contribution. This was the first time in 6 ODI's that Pakistan managed to beat the Proteas at Newlands.  

In my opinion, there is one or two batsmen, especially in the middle-order that needs to pull up their socks immediately or make way for somebody else!

What do you think? Where was our main problem yesterday?

South Africa v Pakistan Played at Newlands, Cape Town, on 24 Nov 2013

South Africa 1st innings

Batting R B 4s 6s GC Smith st Umar Akmal b Mohammad Hafeez 12 16 2 0 HM Amla b Junaid Khan 3 3 0 0 Q de Kock b Bilawal Bhatti 19 24 3 0 JH Kallis b Anwar Ali 50 71 5 1 AB de Villiers b Shahid Afridi 10 15 1 0 JP Duminy c Umar Akmal b Saeed Ajmal 49 70 4 0 DA Miller c Umar Akmal b Anwar Ali 4 14 0 0 VD Philander c Sohaib Maqsood b Saeed Ajmal 14 26 2 0 DW Steyn b Bilawal Bhatti 15 32 1 1 M Morkel b Bilawal Bhatti 17 18 1 1 Imran Tahir not out 0 0 0 0 Extras (w 2) 2 Total (10 wickets; 48.1 overs) 195 Fall of wickets 1-12 (Amla, 2.2 ov); 2-20 (Smith, 3.5 ov); 3-62 (de Kock, 12.1 ov); 4-79 (de Villiers, 17.2 ov); 5-115 (Kallis, 25.4 ov); 6-123 (Miller, 29.4 ov); 7-155 (Philander, 37.4 ov); 8-168 (Duminy, 43.1 ov); 9-192 (Steyn, 46 ov); 10-195 (Morkel, 48.1 ov) Pakistan won by 23 runs Pakistan 218/9 South Africa 195 MOM: Anwar Ali Toss: Pakistan elected to bat Umpires: JD Cloete, CB Gaffaney Third-umpire: BNJ Oxenford Referee: BC Broad Bowling O M R W Junaid Khan 8 0 38 1 Anwar Ali 6 0 24 2 Mohammad Hafeez 10 0 34 1 Bilawal Bhatti 7.1 0 37 3 Saeed Ajmal 10 0 28 2 Shahid Afridi 7 0 34 1

Pakistan 1st innings

Batting R B 4s 6s Nasir Jamshed c Kallis b Steyn 24 46 1 0 Ahmed Shehzad c de Kock b Kallis 35 70 3 0 Mohammad Hafeez c Amla b Steyn 5 10 1 0 Sohaib Maqsood c Imran Tahir b Kallis 22 43 0 0 Misbah-ul-Haq c de Kock b M Morkel 13 19 1 0 Umar Akmal c de Kock b Philander 0 3 0 0 Shahid Afridi b Steyn 26 23 1 1 Bilawal Bhatti lbw b M Morkel 39 25 3 2 Anwar Ali not out 43 55 6 0 Saeed Ajmal c Duminy b M Morkel 3 5 0 0 Junaid Khan not out 0 1 0 0 Extras (b 2, lb 1, w 5) 8 Total (9 wickets; 50 overs) 218 Bowling O M R W Steyn 10 2 33 3 Philander 10 0 37 1 M Morkel 10 0 39 3 Duminy 5 0 23 0 Imran Tahir 7 1 30 0 Kallis 8 0 53 2 Fall of wickets 1-49 (Nasir Jamshed, 15.2 ov); 2-58 (Mohammad Hafeez, 17.3 ov); 3-73 (Ahmed Shehzad, 23.3 ov); 4-97 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 28 ov); 5-98 (Umar Akmal, 29.4 ov); 6-124 (Sohaib Maqsood, 34.3 ov); 7-131 (Shahid Afridi, 35.5 ov); 8-205 (Bilawal Bhatti, 47.3 ov); 9-213 (Saeed Ajmal, 49.2 ov)

Proteas vs Pakistan - First T20 at Wanderers - Rain Has Final Say

We will never know who would have won this first T20 at the Wanderers, as rain stopped play with Pakistan at 60 for 2 after only 9.2 overs. The South African cricket team did manage a win through the Duckworth/Lewis system, but Pakistan was placed well at the time the rain spoiled everything. Pakistan was truly unlucky in the end. They were chasing a score of only 154 to win, after the Proteas managed a final total of 153 for 6 in their allotted 20 overs. 

Openers Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock started like a house on fire after Pakistan won the toss and sent the South Africans in to bat on a predictably quick Wanderers pitch and outfield especially. The two openers were cruising at around 12 - 13 runs per over at the end of the 6th over, which was also the end of the fielding restrictions. The pair combined perfectly for an opening stand of 72 runs, scoring at more than 9 per over. 

From this position, it seemed as if the Proteas were going to effortlessly get to around 170 to 190, but they rather lost their way. Wickets kept on falling - something we see often in cricket games - and they had to settle for a somewhat mediocre final score. 

The second T20 will take place at Newlands this coming Friday and the weather predictions look fine, so we should see a full game of T20 cricket. Can Pakistan square the mini-series in South Africa - what do you think?   

Proteas On Top Against Pakistan - Will They Make It 2-0?

After the Proteas surprisingly lost the first test against Pakistan at the start of the season about a month ago, they have turned things around in the middle. It seems as if, like Dale Steyn admitted, they probably got a huge wakeup call after that initial loss. Since then, they have gone from strength to strength and started hitting their stride with regularity.

A young player like Quinton de Kock got a rare opportunity in the one-day team and made full use of it by scoring his maiden one-day international century. It was an inspiring knock by a great young cricket talent, which is surely going to boost his future performances. What is furthermore encouraging about De Kock's form in the shorter version of the game is that he seems to inspire some of the other batsmen, who were struggling for a bit of form a few weeks ago, to start making worthwhile contributions as well.

Are the Proteas going to make it 2-0 in the T-20's after they jogged through to victory in the first game on Wednesday? The second and final T20 fixture is Friday and starts at 6 pm SA time.

What is your prediction and why?

PAKISTAN FANS Go Crazy on Twitter after defeat to NZ...!!

Emotional cricket fans went berserk on Twitter and Facebook, venting their frustration at fumbling wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, and demanding he be dropped from the team.

http://www.sport24.co.za/Cricket/CricketWorldCup2011

Kamran gave century-maker Ross Taylor two astonishing let-offs during Pakistan's 110-run defeat against New Zealand on Tuesday, missing two regulation chances when the batsman was on nought and eight.

Taylor went on to hit an unbeaten career-best 131, lifting New Zealand to an imposing 302-7 in the World Cup Group A clash at Pallekele stadium before Pakistan were restricted to 192 all out.

The defeat sparked a furious reaction from fans, who demanded Kamran be kicked out.

"Has Kamran applied for political asylum in Sri Lanka?" tweeted Farhan Saya, referring to former wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider, who fled Pakistan's team hotel in Dubai last year and sought asylum in Britain.

One fan said on Twitter: "Has Shahid Afridi told Kamran that he has dropped the World Cup with two catches?".