Chennai (Web Desk): Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first against South Africa in their fifth ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Friday.
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Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said "Every match is important so we will try our best. Put runs on the board". We need to improve in all departments, especially fielding and bowling."
Pakistan have made changes as Muhammad Nawaz and Muhammad Wasim came in, replacing Usama Mir and Iftikhar Ahmed.
After having back to back two wins at the start of their journey in World cup, Pakistan went through three consecutive losses, and now Green Shirts eye victory in fifth match of the tournament.
Pakistani team may fail to even qualify for the semi-finals unless they win all their upcoming matches. On the other hand, the South African team is in excellent form.
In the World Cup 2023, after winning against England on October 26, Sri Lanka have taken the fifth place from Pakistan on the points table. On the points table, Pakistan are at the sixth position with four points while South Africa at the second position with eight points.
Pakistan and South Africa have played 82 ODIs against each other so far. Out of these, Pakistan won 30 matches and South Africa won 51 matches while only one match was inconclusive.
In the ODI World Cup, the two teams have faced each other five times before today's match. Pakistan won twice while South Africa remained victorious in three matches.
Playing XI
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim, Haris Rauf
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South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi
