The first of three T20 internationals between Pakistan and South Africa takes place in Rawalpindi on Tuesday and we take a look at the squads, recent form and the all important betting
This is a three match series with the second and third contests to be staged at Lahore on Friday and Saturday. After that we will have 3 x ODI's. The two match test series was shared 1-1 with the Proteas squaring things up with an 8 wicket victory at this venue last week.
Let's start with the T20 squads.
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wk), Usman Tariq
South Africa: Donovan Ferreira (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Reeza Hendricks, George Linde, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Andile Simelane, and Lizaad Williams
Pakistan Recent Form
Pakistan's most recent T20 action came in the Asia Cup where they finished as runners up to India, losing the final in Dubai by 5 wickets. In July / August they were 2-1 winners against West Indies in a series staged in the USA.
South Africa Recent Form
An under-strength Proteas side were surprisingly beaten by Namibia in a one off contest in Windhoek in October. A 3 match series in England in September was shared 1-1 with the decider washed out whilst in August the Proteas lost 2-1 in Australia.
Recent Head to Head
The most recent meetings between the teams came in South Africa in December 2024 and the Proteas won the series 2-0, coming out on top in the first 2 games before the third was washed out.
Overall the teams have met 24 times and it’s all square with 12 wins a piece. The last time the teams played in Pakistan came in Lahore in Feb 2021 and Pakistan won the series 2-1.
The Betting
At the time of writing Pakistan are 15/20 to win the first T20 and South Africa are 11/10 with Betway
Across the 3 matches Pakistan are 8/11 to win the series with Sportingbet and South Africa can be backed at 11/10.
Prices subject to change
The Verdict
The test match staged here was dominated by spinners and although the make up of the squads is very different for this format I’ll take my chances with George Linde to be top SA bowler.
Bet: South Africa Top Bowler George Linde at 3.75/1 with Sportingbet