South Africa vs Pakistan, 5th ODI: Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

Pakistan will be aiming for their second consecutive ODI series win in South Africa when they step out to play the series-decider at Cape Town against the hosts. The Asian side had won its maiden bilateral ODI series in South Africa during their previous tour in 2013. Pakistan levelled the series after no one gave them the chance being 2-1 down ahead of the 4th ODI. Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed was suspended for his racist remarks prior to Pink ODI in Johannesburg.

It was a Pink ODI, a tradition they follow for charity, the Proteas got into the game with a 6-match winning streak but was broken by Pakistan. After a decent enough start, Usman Khan’s four wickets in the space of six deliveries collapsed the hosts from 156/5 to 164/10. Both the sides have a lot to work on in the do-or-die final game. South Africa allowed Pakistan to recover at several points in this series despite winning two of the four matches.

Match Details:

The fifth match and final match of the ODI series between South Africa and Pakistan will be hosted by the Newlands in Cape Town.

The match starts at 1:00 PM local time (11:00 AM GMT) (4:30 PM IST). The game will be live on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD in India. (Live streaming in Sony Liv)

Last five completed ODI matches:

South Africa: L, W, W, L, W.

Pakistan: W, L, L, W, W.

Pitch Condition/Report:

The Newlands in Cape Town has been a high-scoring venue in recent times especially in limited-overs Internationals. The last three ODI games here witnessed 300+ scores and this might as well be another one of those.

Average first innings score: 332 (Last three ODIs)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 0, Lost – 3 (Last three ODIs)

Probable XI:

South Africa:

Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (WK), Reeza Hendricks, Faf du Plessis (C), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Beuran Hendricks, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Dale Steyn.

Bench – Dwaine Pretorius, Wiaan Mulder, Aiden Markram, Tabraiz Shamsi.

Given the occasion, South Africa might not make any big changes to their playing XI. Mulder, who was added in the squad for this game, should remain on the bench.

Pakistan:

Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik (C), Imad Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Usman Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Bench – Hussain Talat, Shan Masood, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali.

Injury and Availablity News:

Wiaan Mulder added to the South Africa squad for the final ODI.

Sarfraz Ahmed is banned from rest of the South African tour.

Power Picks:

Since the start of 2017, Faf du Plessis has scored 1444 runs from 29 ODI innings at an average of 60.16 with four centuries and seven fifties. In the same span at home, Du Plessis aggregated 752 runs from 12 innings at an average of 83.55 with three hundreds and three fifties. He will be crucial for the Proteas’ chances in the decider game at Newlands. Faf scored a century during the Test series at this venue and recorded his career-best score of 185 when he last played here against Sri Lanka in 2017.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Quinton de Kock has three fifties across all formats in his previous four innings at Cape Town. One of Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks can be captain/vice-captain. However, it will be tough to pick which one of them will end up as the best among the three given how the last three matches fared. Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez and one among Pakistan bowlers can be picked as vice-captain. Dale Steyn, Imam-ul-Haq and Andile Phehlukwayo are perfect alternatives for these roles.

Suggested Playing XI for Head to Head/Small Leagues:

Keeper – Quinton de Kock (C)

Batsmen – Babar Azam (VC), Imam-ul-Haq, Reeza Hendricks, Faf du Plessis, Raasie van der Dussen

All-Rounders – Mohammad Hafeez

Bowlers – Usman Khan, Shadab Khan, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada

Suggested Playing XI for Grand Leagues/Mega Leagues:

Keeper – Quinton de Kock (VC)

Batsmen – Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Faf du Plessis (C), Rassie van der Dussen

All-Rounders – Mohammad Hafeez, Andile Phehlukwayo, Imad Wasim

Bowlers – Mohammad Amir, Imran Tahir, Dale Steyn

Expert Advice:

Cape Town has been a nightmare of a venue for the South African opener Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock. Amla scored 191 runs from seven ODI innings with two fifties while De Kock scored 90 runs from four innings with a fifty. The duo might face issues playing against a quality bowling attack of South Africa. However, QDKKock recently succeeded while playing for the Cape Town Blitz in the Mzansi Super League at this venue. He registered some big knocks which would have given him the confidence.

Probable Winners:

South Africa are expected to win the series-decider against Pakistan by a comfortable margin.

*Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.

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