Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first, Bavuma returned

PAK vs SA: The 26th match of ODI World Cup 2023 is being played today between South Africa and Pakistan. Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first. The match will start at 2:00 pm at Chepauk ground in Chennai.

South Africa is at second place in the points table after 4 wins in 5 matches. Whereas Pakistan team is at sixth position after losing 3 consecutive matches. Pakistan will have to win all its matches to remain in the race for the semi-finals. At the same time, South Africa seems to be one of the biggest contenders for the tournament.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has won the toss and decided to bat first. Babar told that there have been two changes in the team. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz has been included in the team in place of right-arm spinner Usama Mir and Mohammad Wasim Junior has been included in the team in place of fast bowler Hasan Ali. Hasan Ali is not playing due to fever. On the other hand, South Africa has made three changes. Reeza Hendricks, Lizard Williams and Kagiso Rabaja are not playing in this match. Regular captain Temba Bavuma, spinner Tabraiz Shamsi and fast bowler Lungi Ngidi have returned.

Playing-11 of both the teams

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi.

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafiq, Imam ul Haq, Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Haris Rauf.

South Africa's last World Cup win over Pakistan was in 1999.

There were 5 matches between the two teams in the World Cup, South Africa won 3 and Pakistan won 2. After 1999, there were only 2 matches between the two teams, Pakistan won both. These matches were played in 2015 and 2019. Before 2015, there were 3 matches between the two, all were won by South Africa. There were 82 matches between the two teams in ODIs. South Africa won 51 and Pakistan won 30, while one match also remained inconclusive.

Pitch report

Chepauk's pitch has always been helpful to spinners, due to dew here at night, batting also becomes easier. In the last match, Afghanistan had chased 282 runs against Pakistan here. In such a situation, the team winning the toss may prefer to bowl first.

Weather condition

There is no possibility of rain in Chennai today, the wind will blow at a speed of 6 km per hour. The temperature will remain between 26 to 31 degrees Celsius.