South Africa and Pakistan will face each other in the first T20I of their three-match series at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban on Tuesday, December 10.

The match is scheduled to start at 16:00 GMT on 10 December 2024. It will be the 1st T20I of Pakistan's tour of South Africa in the 2024–25 season. The match will be held at Kingsmead, Durban and the local time for the match is 22:00.

Pakistan have a good record in T20Is against South Africa, winning 12 out of 22 matches. In this series, South Africa will be without their regular starters, including captain Aiden Markram, as well as players like Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen. Heinrich Klassen will lead the team. Pakistan, on the other hand, will be led by Rizwan and have named a full-strength squad for this series. It promises to be an exciting match.

Match Preview

South Africa

In the batting department, the team will rely on openers Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton and the middle-order trio of David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen to score the bulk of the runs.

Since January 2024, Reeza Hendricks has topped the batting charts for South Africa in the T20 format. In 20 innings, Hendricks has amassed 444 runs at a strike rate of 126.13 and three half-centuries to his credit.

In the bowling department, the team will rely on pace trio Anrich Nortje, Ottneil Baartman and Patrick Kruger to make breakthroughs with the new ball.

George Linde and Tabraiz Shamsi will be two front-line spin options for South Africa for this opening match of the series.

Pakistan

Given the conditions in Durban, the visitors will surely be keen to field two spinners for this opening match. In batting, the team will rely on explosive opener Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, captain Mohammad Rizwan, Usman Khan, Salman Agha and power hitter Irfan Khan to score the bulk of the runs.

Since June 2024, Usman Khan has shown decent form for Pakistan in the T20 format. In three matches, Usman has scored 103 runs at a strike rate of 121.17.

In bowling, the team will rely on players like pace trio Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem to make early breakthroughs with the new ball.

Abrar Ahmed and Sufyan Muqeem will be two main spinners in this opening match.

Pitch Report

The pitch at SuperSport Park should have a hard surface with bounce and comfort. Under floodlights, the ball could slide onto the bat to allow for more fluid stroke play. The seam bowlers might get some movement initially with the new ball in the powerplay, but the game should be a batter's paradise. The team batting first could score at least 200 runs in their 20 overs.

Toss Prediction

The Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban is a great venue for teams batting second, with six out of ten matches played at this venue since 2012 having been won by chasing teams. Both captains will be keen to win the toss and bowl first on this surface.

Weather Report

The weather forecast for Tuesday evening in Durban is for overcast weather with temperatures around 27°C. Humidity is expected to be between 70 and 75 percent, while moderate wind speeds are expected to reach up to 23 km/h.

Head to Head

Going into this T20I series, the teams had a closely contested record for matches in South Africa. Pakistan had won six matches while South Africa had won five. The series is expected to be another hotly contested one. Pakistan have won the last two T20Is in Centurion in the last five years.

Venue Details

Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban is going to host the opening match of the T20I series played between Pakistan and South Africa.

Match Prediction

Based on their current form, South Africa are slight favourites to beat Pakistan. With players like Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller in good form this season and players like Anrich Nortje and Ottneil Baartman coming into the starting XI, the team management will be hoping that the team can put in a great performance with both bat and ball.

South Africa can be expected to pull off a hard-fought win against Pakistan in Durban.

Betting Tips

T20 matches in South Africa are usually high-class and the power hitters are the most important part of a team. This is where South Africa has a big advantage. We also believe that South Africa's strong middle order gives them flexibility and the ability to target the admittedly impressive Pakistani bowling unit.

Bet on a South Africa win.

Probable Playing XI

South Africa

Reeza Hendricks, Matthew Breetzke, Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen (c & wk), Donovan Ferreira, David Miller, Patrick Kruger, George Linde, Anrich Nortje, Ottneil Baartman, Tabraiz Shamsi

Pakistan

Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Babar Azam, Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem.

Top Fantasy Picks Dream11 Prediction

South Africa Key Players

Heinrich Klassen is one of the most destructive batsmen ever, having scored 980 runs in T20Is at a strike rate of 140.

Anrich Nortje bowls with good pace and is making a comeback on the international stage. He can be a practical budget choice for this game.

David Miller has built a reputation for match-winning performances in the middle and final overs, and his dominance on home soil makes him a key player for the hosts.

Pakistan Key Players

Mohammad Rizwan is a reliable run getter in this format and will open the batting. He can also score points with his wicket keeping, making him a good choice for the captaincy.

Shaheen Afridi will lead the bowling attack and has 97 wickets in 73 T20I matches. He will be a top pick.

Babar Azam scored a century in the T20I on the last tour to South Africa and will be a good option for this game.

Haris Rauf his side's leading wicket-taker in T20Is and the only Pakistani bowler ranked in the top 20 of the ICC T20I Bowling Rankings. Rauf's ability to strike in the middle overs and adapt to overseas conditions makes this a must-watch contest.