Pakistan will face South Africa in the 26th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday. The match is scheduled to begin at 1:30 pm IST local time.

Pakistan and South Africa are the rivals in the 26th match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup in Chennai, with both teams having played five matches in the tournament so far. Pakistan have lost their last three games against India, Australia and Afghanistan after winning their first two games. South Africa have won four of their five games, defeating England and Bangladesh in their last two games. Read on as we preview this day-night conflict. This match starts at 2:00 pm local time at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk.

Pakistan have fallen into a poor run of form over the last week and although some of their key players have put in strong performances, they haven't had the strength across the team to compete with the best teams. It will be another tough game on Friday.

All teams in this tournament are capable of beating the others, but it's how you respond to defeat that separates the great teams. South Africa were embarrassed to lose to the Netherlands but have shown their strength and will be full of confidence in this game.

Match Preview

Pakistan (PAK) will face South Africa (SA) in the 26th match of the ongoing Cricket World Cup at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday (October 27). Pakistan have lost three consecutive games after winning their first two games. South Africa have won four games and are in second place in the points standings.

Pakistan faced Afghanistan in their last match and lost the game by eight wickets. Pakistan scored 282 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 50 overs. Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam scored half-centuries for the team. Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed scored 40 runs each for Pakistan. Afghanistan got off to a dream start and lost their first wicket in the 22nd over. The top three batsmen scored half-centuries for the team and helped Afghanistan achieve this historic victory.

South Africa were a dominant force with the bat in the tournament and showed their class in the final game against Bangladesh. With the help of the devastating knocks of Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen, they put 382 runs on the board. de Kock scored 174 runs from 140 deliveries, including 15 fours and seven sixes. Klaasen missed out on a well-deserved century as he was dismissed for 90 runs off 49 deliveries. Bangladesh, on the other hand, scored 233 runs in 46.4 overs and lost the game by 149 runs.

Pitch Report

Weather Report

A hot and sweaty afternoon and evening is forecast for Chennai with humidity consistently above 70%. The temperature will rise to around 31 degrees in the first few hours of the game.

Toss Prediction

Venue Details

Head to Head

Match Prediction

A win for Pakistan in this match would take them level on points with Australia in fourth place and would be a huge confidence boost for their players, staff and fans after recent defeats. However, despite Pakistan's group of talented players, they are expected to find it very difficult to keep up with South Africa in this ODI on Friday. With players like Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen all achieving extremely high levels of performance, we predict another win for South Africa.

South Africa beats Pakistan

Betting Tips

The Proteas should win this game considering their in-form batting resources and impressive batting unit. South Africa are considered 1.53 favorites. Pakistan is considered a 2.65 underdog.

Probable Playing XI

Pakistan

South Africa

Top Fantasy Picks Dream11 Prediction

Pakistan Key Players

Babar Azam - The captain has reached half-centuries in two of his last three innings but his side will need to post a high score in this game to keep up with South Africa's batting prowess.

Shaheen Shah Afridi – The left-arm pace bowler grabbed the big wicket of opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the last game. He averages a wicket every 25.20 balls in this tournament.

Mohammad Rizwan He is Pakistan's leading run-scorer in the tournament. He has made 302 runs in five matches at an average of 75.50 and a strike rate of 95.87.

South Africa Key Players

Heinrich Klaasen – Despite a brilliant year with the bat, some cricket enthusiasts doubted the 32-year-old would be ahead of this competition. But the values ​​of 109 and 90 from the last two games show how good he is.

Marco Jansen – The bowling all-rounder continued his brilliant performance against England with two wickets from Bangladesh's top three. He has a strike rate of 22.80 in the tournament.

Kagiso Rabada – The experienced right-arm fast bowler is still bowling at excellent pace. He comes into this game after dismissing Litton Das and Hasan Mahmud in the last game against Bangladesh.