World Cup 2015 Group B Match 29 South Africa vs Pakistan preview; Must win for Pakistan

World Cup 2015 Group B Match 29 South Africa vs Pakistan preview; Must win for Pakistan:

Date: 7 March 2015        Time: 0630 IST
Venue: Auckland

South Africa

South Africa had another run fest against Ireland making 411/5 and winning the match by 201 runs. Hashim Amla, Rilee Russouw, AB de Villiers and David Miller all are in top form. Still their concern is the form of Quinton de Kock who is throwing his wicket after getting some runs. AB de Villiers should keep wickets to allow both Parnell and Russouw to play in the team.

Their bowling is led by Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn with Imran Tahir being the stand out performer for them. He has always being in the thick of the game and going for wickets. De Villiers has seemed to have given Tahir the license to go for wickets and not worry about the runs he give. Against Pakistan it will be a very different experience since they play spin well. They will also need to prepare for Mohd Irfan and Wahab Riaz.

Pakistan

Pakistan defeated UAE in a clinical performance at McLean Park, Napier. With this win, Pakistan has now won their second match in the group. Nasir Jamshed failed again against UAE but Haris Sohail, Ahmed Shehzad and Misbah-ul-Haq made runs and got back their form for a make or break match against South Africa. Misbah suggested that with Eden Park’s short straight boundaries, and the presence of Shahid Afridi, Yasir Shah, the legspinner, might spend a bit more time on the bench.

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If Pakistan wins the South Africa clash, it will get an important boost to its quarterfinal hopes. Else, it could all come down to the final Pool B game against Ireland – which too has two wins so far but from three games compared to Pakistan’s four – on Sunday.
If Pakistan is worried about missing some key players who brought stability to the line-up, it is not letting on. The team has managed to hang in there, and Misbah has done everything to keep the dream alive.

Last 5 ODIs:
South Africa: W W L W W
Pakistan:  W L L L L

Possible playing XI:
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed, Ahmed Shezad, Misbah-ul-Haq(C),Younis Khan, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal (WK), Shoaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali

South Africa:  AB de Villiers (c), Hashim Amla, Kyle Abbott, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn.