3rd ODI: Pakistan eye historic whitewash against South Africa
Pakistan will eye history in the third and final ODI against South Africa on December 22, 2024. The match will be played at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. Having already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead, Pakistan will be eyeing a clean sweep against the Proteas. It must be noted that no team has whitewashed SA in a rainbow nation as far as bilateral ODI series are concerned. Here is the preview.
Pitch report, conditions, and streaming details
The Wanderers Stadium is famous for its batting-friendly pitches that often witness teams crossing the 300-run mark in ODIs. However, the weather on match day is expected to be cloudy and slightly chilly with temperatures going up to 21 degrees Celsius. There are also chances of rain in the evening. The Sports18 Network will broadcast the match (5:30pm IST), while live streaming is available on the JioCinema app.
South Africa struggles against Pakistan's prowess
The hosts have failed to match Pakistan's performance in the ongoing series, especially with their batting. The Asian Giants have shown superior skills across all departments as SA were restricted under 250 in both games. Their pace attack has successfully dismantled South Africa's batting order while their batsmen have piled up significant runs.
Here are the probable XIs
South Africa (Probable XI): Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin, Kwena Maphaka, Tabraiz Shamsi. Pakistan (Probable XI): Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Kamran Ghulam, Salman Agha, Irfan Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
Head-to-head record
South Africa and Pakistan have locked horns in 85 ODIs so far, with the Proteas winning 52. Pakistan have won 32 matches, with one of them getting abandoned. The Proteas have won as many as 22 of 39 ODIs against Pakistan at home. 16 of these games have been clinched by the Men in Green (NR: 1). Meanwhile, this is Pakistan's third ODI series triumph against South Africa in South Africa.
Here are the key players
Heinrich Klaasen recorded 80-plus scores in both games while none of his teammates could even manage an individual fifty. While Saim Ayub is the only centurion of this series, Salman Agha, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Kamran Ghulam are the other half-centurions. Agha and Shaheen Afridi recorded four-fers in the first and second ODI, respectively. For SA, Marco Jansen and Kwena Maphaka have scalped four wickets apiece.
