PAK vs SA T20 World Cup Preview: Battle of two fiery pace attacks as Proteas aim semis spot

South Africa have a good chance of qualifying for the semi-finals when they take on Pakistan in Group 2 clash of the Super 12 stage on Thursday. On the contrary, Pakistan will aim to win but just to salvage their respect. From tournament’s perspective, it is quite unfortunate to see this Pakistan outfit placed where they are currently. Who knew this side would almost be knocked out at such an early stage when the tournament began.

It must be very frustrating for Men in Green knowing the talent that they have to offer with Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan at the top and Fakhar Zaman back in the mix. Shan Masood has been doing very well of late and so is Iftikhar Ahmed. Throw in Shadab Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jr. and Shaheen Shah Afridi, you have a very balanced side ready. It is such a shame that they were relying on India to beat South Africa the other night and unfortunately for them, it did not go as per plans.

It would not be wrong to say that Pakistan have underachieved a lot in this tournament. They lost to Zimbabwe by one run to shock the world. The game against India could have gone either way. It was really the miraculous batting by Virat Kohli and then Hardik Pandya that allowed India to get over the line.

But when you sit and analyse the two defeats, you see one common factor in these losses.

Pakistan had India four down for not many runs but they could not deliver the final punch. After having put pressure on India, they failed to pin them down. That killer instinct was missing where you finish your opponent totally. That is something which I feel has been missing for Pakistan in this tournament. To push the side on the back foot and then finish them off. They have allowed the opposition to get back into the game on two occasions. After India game, they allowed Zimbabwe to get to 130 in the next match. They could have pushed them back further and chased a lesser target.

Now they are up against a very good South African side, for whom it will be an important game as they can cement their spot in the semis. Had India beaten South Africa the other day, this game could have become a virtual quarter-final between the two sides. It is not now. Yet, there is so much more to look forward to.

SA have almost all their bases covered

When you look at the South Africa side, there is a nice balance in their lineup. They are both a
batting and bowling powerhouse, at the same time.

Rilee Rossouw is in great touch at the moment. Missed out last time vs the Indians and would be eager to get back on track. Quinton de Kock is in sublime form too. These two are gifted lefthanders who are eye-pleasing when on song. South Africa’s only concern remains Temba Bavuma, their captain, who is struggling for runs and needs them desperately to regain his confidence. But thanks to other batters who revolve around him, Bavuma’s form has not bothered Proteas yet. Look at their middle order batting. It is so powerful with Aiden Markram, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs in there. The tail can do more than just hold the cricket bat.

Pakistan too, despite their bad run, are a solid side. All eyes will be on Babar who has had a sorry tournament so far. They need him to finally come good and play a powerful knock. One more concern is Shaheen, who doesn’t seem to be firing on all cylinders at the moment. That is understandable given the major issue with the knee. He had quite a substantial amount of time out of the game. I was there in the Test match at Galle where he hurt his knee. Whether you are a batter or a bowler, you like a rhythm. You like to get into a groove. Playing, ticking along nicely.
He was away for a big time and would take some time to get going. Hopefully, he finds back the rhythm vs SA.

Battle of pace attacks

Both these sides have a quality pace attack. In South Africa, you have got Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Wayne Parnell. Pakistan have got Shaheen, Haris Rauf, Wasim Jr. and Naseem Shah. These are some of the most influential fast bowlers in the world. On Thursday, there will be a great face-off between the pace bowlers from both the sides which will be tempting to watch.

Conditions, what do they say?

The match will be at the SCG so it will be interesting to see which of the tracks are used. Will it be slower or quicker? It was very quick between New Zealand and Australia in the opening game of the Super 12s. Finn Allen liked the ball coming on in that match. But the other pitches have been slower. It will be fascinating to see the conditions. It has been more on the slower side rather than the slicker side with decent bounce.

Keeping the conditions in mind, I believe South Africa batters have an edge over Pakistan when it comes to playing the short balls. They have grown up on similar pitches that have lots of bounce. Both sides have a great top order but their batting approaches are different. I am hoping that the pitch is quite slick and pacy. I know that Pakistan would want to play on a rather slower track because they have got some really good spinners in Shadab Khan and
Mohammad Nawaz. But then again, don’t count out South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj who are quality too.

While there is no doubt that it will be another good matchup between the quick bowlers, it is also true that scoring quickly in the powerplay would be crucial and in the regard, it would be interesting to see who can kick on from the word go. Rossouw showed couple of games ago what he is capable of. De Kock can do a lot of things. Miller and Markram had a good partnership against India in the last game. Let’s see whether Babar, Rizwan and Fakhar can get going?