South Africa vs Pakistan 3rd ODI Predictions and Preview

Those who stopped watching the second ODI three-quarters of the way through missed out on a thrilling attempt at a chase that went down to the last over to be decided, as what seemed to be a dead and buried game at one point sparked back into life in the expert hands of Fakhar Zaman. Despite the close competition, however, the series is now level and anybody’s game as the teams head into the third and deciding ODI. With both sides eager for a trophy, this should be hotly contested, and before that contest reaches fever pitch, let’s take a look at the two contenders.

South Africa

Predicted XI for 3rd ODI vs Pakistan

Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Andile Phehlukwayo, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lutho Sipamla, Anrich Nortje, Jon-Jon Smuts, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Rassie van der Dussen.

Preview and form

It’s always a great feeling to put up a sizable total to defend, and the Proteas did exactly that in the second match. Batting first, Quinton de Kock played a big innings (80 off 86) after a long time alongside Aiden Markram (39 off 34) to give his team a platform, and with Temba Bavuma’s captain’s knock of 92 off 102, and Rassie van der Dussen (60 from 37) and David Miller’s (50 from 27) blistering knocks, the home side put up a terrifying 341. On the defense, several wickets in quick succession made it look as though the game would be South Africa’s soon, but it took a lot longer than that to finalize that fact. Anrich Nortje once again shone with 3, while Andile Phehlukwayo took two and Kagiso Rabada kept things tidy with 2 maidens in addition to his solitary wicket as the home side won by 17 runs.

South Africa key players for 3rd ODI vs Pakistan

Temba Bavuma: The captain showed tremendous skill as he led from the front, and we think it’s the start of something great.

Rassie van der Dussen: When a batsman’s ODI average gets reduced when he scores 60, you know he’s something special.

Anrich Nortje: With 7 wickets from 2 matches, Nortje is in divine form.

Kagiso Rabada: Keeping the economy rate in check but low on wickets, Rabada will want to change that second stat.

Pakistan

Predicted XI for 3rd ODI vs South Africa

Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Asif Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Asif Ali, Mohammad Hasnain.

Preview and form

The West Indies of the east, Pakistan are known for their surprising performances - whether good or bad. They almost pulled off one hell of a comeback, but sadly only managed to win the hearts of cricket fans. It was a rough day for the bowlers despite plenty of wickets taken, as most of them were smacked around quite a bit. Nevertheless, Haris Rauf’s triple haul helped, along with single wickets from 3 other bowlers. Trying to hail down 342 was never going to be easy, and when the second-highest score on the team being 31 and the third-highest coming in the form of 25 extras, one would expect the loss to have been massive. However, Fakhar Zaman’s monumental 193 almost saw Pakistan seize the match, as at one point, if there had been any support at all whatsoever, he could have seen his team through. Though Pakistan could only get to 324 overall, hats off to Zaman for an incredible one-man army performance.

Pakistan key players for 3rd ODI vs South Africa

Fakhar Zaman: He might just get out for a duck next match, and he still will have earned his place here.

Babar Azam: Although unable to take his score much in the last match, Azam is still Pakistan’s most consistent batsman by some way.

Haris Rauf: Rauf was the standout bowler in the last match, taking as many wickets as every other bowler combined.

Shaheen Shah Afridi: Afridi went for runs in the last two matches, but he hasn’t been ineffective, and he’ll love the Centurion pitch.

South Africa vs Pakistan 3rd ODI pitch report and weather conditions

As the convoy heads back to the SuperSport Park in Centurion, the pitch will once again be very favourable for fast bowlers, with scoring runs becoming more difficult. Teams bowling might choose to bowl in order to exploit the early swing, or choose to see out the early overs to pile on the runs, with the ball coming on to the bat nice and quick. Expect first innings scores of 260+ to rattle chasers.

It is likely to rain all night before the match, and sporadic drizzles or showers aren’t entirely unlikely throughout the day. We might see a slightly shortened game, but it’s unlikely that DLS will need to be used to decide the outcome as the chance for precipitation will fall as the day goes on. Other than that, although it’ll be a little cold for the Pakistanis, the weather will be pleasant for South Africans. 

Can the Proteas seal the series with a reverse sweep? Or will the Men in Green get a rare - and much needed - away triumph? Find out if our South Africa vs Pakistan 3rd ODI predictions come true on Wednesday!