PAK vs RSA Match Prediction & Betting Tips - Oct 27, 2023
Pakistan and South Africa will contest the 26th match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup. The Proteas and Pakistan currenntly occupy second and fifth position, respectively, in the 10-team tournament's standings.
South Africa will go into this match on the back of recent victory over Bangladesh, while Pakistan lost to Afghanistan. Let's see what the cricket markets and betting odds have in store for this key fixture in Chennai, India.
Pakistan vs South Africa head-to-head record
Pakistan have three wins to South Africa's two in their last five ODI meetings. They have not met in this format of the international game since 2021. Overall in ODI cricket, the Proteas have beaten Pakistan 51 times - and Pakistan have beaten South Africa on 30 occasions.
Pakistan vs South Africa live streaming and broadcast
You can watch this match and the rest of this year's Cricket World Cup on the Star Sports Network and their Disney+ Hotstar streaming app in India. The tournament is being broadcast on free-to-air channels by Doordarshan in India as well.
PAK vs RSA Team Previews
Pakistan
Pakistan started the tournament well with victories over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, but have since slipped to defeats against India, Australia and Afghanistan. The third of those three successive losses was probably the worst. It largely exposed a team that can't really afford another defeat here if they are to remain in contention for a semi-final berth.
Pakistan are a solid batting unit. They have a wealth of bowling resources, too. But they need to gel together more formidably. "We are not able to click in all departments at the same time. When we do well in bowling, we don't do well in batting. When we do well in batting, we don't do as well in fielding," said captain Babar Azam recently.
Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is their leading run-scorer in this tournament so far. His 302 runs in five innings have him averaging over 75. Opener Abdullah Shafique is second to Rizwan - and will go into this fixture after back-to-back half-centuries, against Australia and then Afghanistan. He scored a century against Sri Lanka earlier this month.
Fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf have shared 26 wickets this tournament. Afridi has 10 in five, but take away the five-for he took in defeat to the Aussies and that leaves five wickets in four matches. His form remains a concern for Pakistan.
Pakistan Playing 11
Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf.
South Africa
South Africa have shaken off defeat to the Netherlands with victories over England and Bangladesh. They are shaping up as the best batting team in India this month after collecting the three highest totals of the 2023 Cricket World Cup so far, including the only tally of 400-plus.
Victory in this match would push the Proteas to the very top of the 10-team standings - and have them a step closer to a semi-final berth. If the pressure isn't on already, it'll likely really begin to mount as the team moves deeper into the round-robin stage of the tournament.
Proteas wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock is the leading run-scorer overall this tournament. He has already struck 407 runs in five innings, including three centuries. South Africa have actually hit six of the 19 centuries at the Cricket World Cup this year. In-form trio Heinrich Klaasen, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram have the others.
The Proteas have three bowlers with 10 wickets each at the tournament so far. All-rounder Gerald Coetzee is averaging more than two wickets per match, while fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen have been relatively prolific as well. Whether the injured Lungi Ngidi will return to the XI for this match remains in the balance.
South Africa Playing 11
Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi.
PAK vs RSA Toss Prediction
The last 10 ODIs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Chennai, have produced an even split of five wins for the team batting first and five for the team batting second.
The first four matches in Chennai this World Cup saw the toss-winning captain choose to field first twice. One of those decisions resulted in defeat.
Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first at this venue a few days ago, when they lost to Afghanistan. If they triumph in the flip of the coin this time, they might choose differently. South Africa have not played an ODI here since 2015.
Read our guide on toss predictions to learn how we analyze and come up with our tips.
Pitch and Conditions
This will be the fifth and final match in Chennai this World Cup. It will be interesting to see if a fresh pitch is used. The ground has yielded first-innings scores of 199, 245, 288 and 282 so far. In the eight innings, only two teams were bowled out.
Chepauk isn't necessarily a high-scoring venue and it can be well worth deploying plenty of spin here. Afghanistan bowled 38 overs of spin in victory over Pakistan here recently.
Weather-wise, some rain is predicted in Chennai on Thursday and Friday. This probably won't be enough to shorten the fixture, though, if at all.
PAK vs RSA Betting Tips
Pakistan have lost their way in the wake of three consecutive defeats. South Africa have gained plenty of momentum en route to second position on the points table.
The Proteas should win this fixture, given their in-form batting resources and formidable batting unit. South Africa are priced as 1.53 favourites. Pakistan are offered as 2.65 underdogs.
Bonus Cricket Bets
Miller hasn't really had to put in big knocks this tournament, given the fine form of de Kock and company. But if the top order misfire, he could be key. Miller is among the best hitters in limited-overs cricket. He has recent experience at this ground after playing for Gujarat Titans in the 2023 Indian Premier League.
Spin will likely have a big say in this match. Khan isn't priced at the shortest odds to be Pakistan's top bowler in this match, but could bring good value nonetheless. The last time he played an ODI against the Proteas, outside South Africa, he took three wickets.
Coetzee has effectively secured a berth in South Africa's first-choice XI for the rest of this tournament after taking 10 wickets in four matches. Averaging more than two wickets per fixture is a prolific ratio in ODI cricket. He took three wickets against Bangladesh at the venue for this match recently. He knows the conditions well.
Who will win PAK vs RSA
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Match Predictions
Cricket Betting Tips
- Highest opening partnership - India W (1.55) and 1 more BANW vs INDW betting tip
- Total runs in the highest scoring over of the match - Over 22.5 (1.95) and 2 more MI vs SRH betting tips
- Nazmul Hossain Shanto to become the top batter. - 4.10 and 3 more BAN vs ZIM betting tips
- Delhi Capitals to win the toss - 1.90 and 4 more DC vs RR betting tips
We are eager to know what you think of our match predictions, if there is anything we can do better or if you want to let us know your own predictions for the match.