An inconsistent Pakistan side will fight it out against a hapless South Africa at the iconic Lord’s, London in the 30th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on Sunday.
Both South Africa and Pakistan have three points in the ICC points tally subsequent to playing six and five matches respectively yet the Proteas are at the eighth spot while Pakistan are at the ninth place because of the difference in the net run rate.
South Africa is virtually out of the semi-finals race in the wake of losing to New Zealand at Edgbaston, Birmingham as Kane Williamson snatched victory from the Africans. However, Pakistan may still manage to sneak into the knock-out rounds if they win their remaining matches and results of other matches also go in their favour.
At the point when Pakistan were pounded by West Indies in their competition opener, a significant number of fans attracted parallels to their victorious campaign in 1992 when they scripted a breathtaking turnaround to win the title.
Nevertheless, following Pakistan’s huge defeat at the hands of India on 16 June, Sunday, it seems to be getting more and more difficult for the Pakistan team.
Mohammad Amir was the solitary warrior in the bowling department against India and their batting and fielding was a major let down. Senior player Shoaib Malik may not get a game in this World Cup anymore following his dismal performance with the bat.
Notably, this World Cup is Shoaib Malik’s last assignment with the Pakistan ODI squad as he has announced his retirement post the tournament.
South Africa, on the other hand, do not seem to be learning anything from their mistakes. They had their moments in the game against New Zealand yet gave the Kane Williamson-led side freebies. As a result, they lost a match which they could have won.
Leg spinner Imran Tahir and batsman JP Duminy will retire from ODIs after the end of South African campaign here and both will be eager to prove a point in their remaining matches for South Africa.
Interestingly, this will also be the first match at the iconic Lord’s in this tournament and it remains to be seen how the pitch plays this Sunday.
The match is scheduled to begin from 3 pm (IST) onwards.
Squads
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c), Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, JP Duminy, Dwaine Pretorius, Beuran Hendricks, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c/wk), Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Imam-ul-Haq, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman