Pakistan bowls against South Africa in the first ODI

South Africa have won the toss and have opted to bat first in the first of five one-day internationals (ODI) at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

The Test series was nothing short of nightmare experience for skipper Sarfraz as the team suffered a humiliating 3-0 whitewash. However, the odds in 50-overs cricket are much more even as both South Africa and Pakistan are evenly placed at fourth and fifth position, respectively.

The Men in Green will be bolstered with the inclusion of senior middle-order duo of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, while the rest of the line-up too picks itself.

Meanwhile, the Proteas will be without their wicketkeeper batsman Quinton de Kock and speedster Dale Steyn that means Heinrich Klaasen will have to don the keeping gloves, whereas Test hero Duanne Olivier could get his maiden ODI cap.

Teams:

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed(w/c), Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan

South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Hashim Amla, Rassie van der Dussen, Faf du Plessis(c), David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Duanne Olivier