SA vs PAK Halaplay Prediction | South Africa vs Pakistan 1st T20I

SA vs PAK Match Prediction & Preview

After clinching both ODI and Test series, South Africa will look to inflict some more damage on the visitors when they meet Pakistan in the first of three T20Is on Friday at the Newlands in Cape Town. The shorter the format, the more dangerous Pakistan are, and South Africa must be very well aware of that fact. Pakistan are on a 9-match winning streak and boast of winning 17 of their last 19 matches in 2018. Numbers will get reset as this will be their first T20I of 2019, but that doesn’t take away anything from how strong Pakistan are in the shortest format. South Africa are more or less still struggling to find the right balance and will look to fix that before anything else by the end of this series. Stakes will be high, and so will be the quality of cricket to be played. While Pakistan have stuck to their big names, South Africa have went in with a bunch of new faces. So as it stands, history favours South Africa, while recent form is tilting the battle in Pakistan’s favour. The series is bound to be crucial with respect to each side’s World Cup preparations and thus, it won’t be wrong to expect a cracker of a game on Friday.

Team News

South Africa

Injuries: Nothing on the injury from but there are quite a few changes expected to the side that won the 5th ODI.

Doubt: Junior Dala starting the match is highly unlikely given the presence of 20-year-old Lutho Sipamla.

Questionable: Gihahn Cloete is also expected to start but that will mean two Wicket-Keeper batsmen in the squad.

Expected Changes: Gihahn Cloete and Lutho Sipamla are the two probable changes we can forecast for now.

Pakistan

Injuries: Not an Injury, but Pakistan will have their Captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, ruled out of the series in accordance with his 4-match ban.

Doubt: Mohammad Amir’s poor run has been a real issue for Pakistan and they’ll like to address it before anything else.

Questionable: Asif Ali is bound to return but who’ll make way for him is unclear.

Expected Changes: The only Change we expect to the side that lost the fifth ODI is the inclusion of Asif Ali for Imam-ul-Haq.

Probable XIs

South Africa Playing11

Quinton de Kock (WK), Faf du Plessis (C), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Gihahn Cloete, David Miller, Chris Morris, Willem Mulder, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lutho Sipamla, Tabraiz Shamsi

Pakistan Playing11

Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik (C), Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Khan

SA vs PAK HalaPlay Fantasy Team

Halaplay did not include Asif Ali for some reason in their players list, which is why he hasn’t been picked up in the fantasy team. He is an obvious pick for this format considering his striking abilities. If he becomes available later on, please ensure you do add him to your squad. As for the ones selected here, De Kock, Du Plessis, Reeza Hendricks, Shoaib Malik, and Fakhar Zaman have all been picked in the side to give a headstart considering their batting position and abilities. Bowlers are included on the overs they’re expected to bowl. Captaincy has been credited to Shoaib Malik as he is, as always, expected to be the mainstay of Pakistan’s batting lineup.