ICC Cricket World Cup, Pakistan vs South Africa: Statistical preview
Pakistan will be up against South Africa in Match 26 of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium will host the match on October 27 (2:00pm IST). While the Men in Green have two wins in five games, the Proteas side boasts four wins and a solitary defeat. Here we look at the statistical preview.
A look at the head-to-head record
The two sides have locked horns 107 times in ODI cricket and the Proteas team has dominated most fixtures. The head-to-head record reads 51-30 in South Africa's favor. One of their matches got washed out. Meanwhile, the Men in Green have two wins and three defeats against SA in ODI World Cups. Pakistan would be raring to improve their record.
Here are the stadium stats
Chepauk has witnessed 38 ODIs to date with teams batting first winning 18 and losing 19 games. The average first-innings score is 227. In 2007, Asia XI registered 337/7 while batting first against Africa XI. This is the highest team total here. While Pakistan have two wins and a solitary defeat here, SA suffered defeats in both their previous ODI outings at this venue.
Quinton de Kock can get this feat
With 407 runs at 81.40, Quinton de Kock is the leading run-getter in the ongoing tournament. He has a chance of becoming the first Proteas batter to slam 500 runs in an ODI WC edition. While de Kock owns three tons in this tournament, Australia's David Warner is the only other batter with multiple centuries (2). De Kock owns 6,583 ODI runs at 46.03.
Rizwan closing in on 1,000 ODI runs in 2023
Mohammad Rizwan has been in sublime form in ODIs this year. He has been Pakistan's most successful batter in this format in 2023. He has amassed 930 runs in 21 matches at an impressive average of 66.42. The wicketkeeper-batter, hence, can become the first Pakistan player to accomplish 1,000 runs in ODIs this year. He (1,995) is also closing in on 2,000 ODI runs.
Klaasen will be vital for South Africa
Heinrich Klaasen has scored 815 runs in 16 ODIs this year at 58.21. Three of Klaasen's four ODI centuries have come this year, all under 62 balls. Klaasen's strike rate of 151.20 in 2023 is the highest among batters with at least 800 ODI runs in a calendar year. Only Aiden Markram (842) has smashed more ODI runs among South African batters this year.
Shaheen Afridi can script history
Pakistan's pace sensation Shaheen Afridi, who owns 96 wickets in 49 ODIs, can become the fastest pacer to accomplish 100 ODI wickets. He can overtake Mitchell Starc, who took 52 matches to get the milestone. Afridi's teammate and veteran pacer Hasan Ali needs a solitary scalp to complete 100 wickets in the format.
2,000 ODI runs loading for Markram
The in-form Markram can also accomplish a major feat as he is just 70 runs away from completing 2,000 ODI runs. His current tally reads 930 runs in 60 games at 37.11. Meanwhile, team skipper Temba Bavuma can get to 1,500 ODI runs. He needs 74 runs to get the feat.
