RSA vs PAK Match Prediction & Betting Tips - Feb 03, 2019

Pakistan is the number one ranked side in T20 cricket at the moment and has had an unbelievable amount of success in this format over the last year. They came into this series as favorites even though the series is being held in South Africa. No too many Pakistani cricket teams would have experienced that after coming to South Africa.

They, however, ended up losing the first T20 by six runs in a closely fought match where the Pakistanis let some winning positions slip. South Africa was very impressive in this series and Faf du Plessis continued to be absolutely brilliant across formats.

We think his batting the leadership he brings is going to make South Africa a contender at the ICC World Cup 2019. Du Plessis and Quinton de Kock are going to be rested for the remainder of the T20 series and a couple of more spots will open up for the South African youngsters.

Can Pakistan take advantage and show just why they are so dangerous in T20 cricket?

RSA vs PAK Team Previews

South Africa

An excellent batting performance by South Africa led the side to victory against Pakistan in the first T20. A 74 from Reeza Hendricks and 78 from Faf du Plessis were the foundation of the inning with no real contributions from anyone else. In fact, for a time it looked like Hendricks and du Plessis had set South Africa on course to reach well over 200 but failures for the middle and lower order meant they had to settle for 192.

Faf du Plessis is not going to be playing this next T20 and that is going to be a huge loss for the side. The decision to rest him is a part of the continuing efforts for South Africa to test their players ahead of the ICC World Cup 2019.

There is a lot of quality in the South African side even with du Plessis not being there. Reeza Hendricks has established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet with some consistent scores and will be looking to add some more runs to his name.

Gihahn Cloete made only 13 but had a very good Mzansi Super League and is very aggressive at the top. Cloete is also quite proficient against the spinners which makes him a good choice against Pakistan. Rassie van der Dussen could move up to three. The previous match was the first time he has faced failure in international cricket and he is another player we are very excited to see proper.

With power in the middle from batsmen like David Miller, Chris Morris, Heinrich Klaasen, and Andile Phehlukwayo, the South Africans have a deep batting lineup. Matched up against Pakistan, the depth and quality of the batting seem much superior.

The South African bowling was a bit underwhelming in the previous game. All the bowlers except for Phehlukwayo went for plenty of runs. Beuran Hendricks and Junior Dala were unable to make inroads into the Pakistani side after the initial wicket of Fakhar Zaman.

The role of Tabraiz Shamsi as a wicket-taker against Pakistan is going to be tested in this match.

South Africa Playing 11

Janneman Malan, Reeza Hendricks, RVD Dussen, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Lutho Sipamla, B Hendricks, Junior Dala, Tabraiz Shamsi.


Pakistan

The reason why Pakistan has been such a force in T20 cricket has to do with its bowling. Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, and Faheem Ashraf have been very effective for Pakistan in picking up regular wickets to stifle the run scoring.

We think Pakistan got its balance a little wrong in the last match. They picked too many bowling all-rounders in their side and may have been better served by having an additional batsman or even a front line bowler like Mohammad Amir.

Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, and Imad Wasim are all bowling all-rounders. Surely having Mohammad Amir as an attacking option instead of Faheem Ashraf would have made more sense. If Pakistan was worried about its batting then just playing bits and pieces players is not serving the purpose either.

We think Pakistan may make one change in their side and pick another bowler in place of one of the all-rounders.

The batting for Pakistan was pretty good in the previous match. Babar Azam is the top-ranked T20 batsman in the world because of his amazing consistency. Pakistan has found a real white ball gem in this lad and his position opening the batting allows him to have the most impact on the game.

Hussain Talat also played well in the last game while Shoaib Malik was brilliant. His elevation to the captaincy role has definitely helped his performances in the last few games and the team seems to be responding pretty well to his leadership as well.

Here is the real problem we have with the Pakistani batting. After Shoaib Malik at 4, there is Asif Ali at 5, the three all-rounders, and the bowlers. Asif Ali is not someone who should be batting above number 6 at best and the all-rounders are pretty bad with the bat.

If Malik and Babar fall early, Pakistan is not going to be able to score a par total to try and fight the South Africans.

Usman Shinwari seems to have elevated his game over the last few months after impressive performances in the BBL and now in South Africa. We would love to see him paired with Mohammad Amir and for Pakistan to really go for the kill.

Pakistan is not going to out-bat the South Africans. To win, they must bank on their bowling and hope to be able to follow through with the bat.

Pakistan Playing 11

F Zaman, Babar Azam, Hussain Talat, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, SI Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Khan.

RSA vs PAK Toss Prediction

The side winning the toss is likely to want to field first with some rain expected

Read our guide on toss predictions to learn how we analyze and come up with our tips.

Pitch and Conditions

The second T20 international between South Africa and Pakistan is going to be played at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. The weather forecast in Johannesburg on match day is not good. There is rain and some thunderstorms predicted throughout the day. We will have to be very lucky to be able to get a full match in.

The pitch at the Wanderers always has a little something in for the fast bowlers but is good for run scoring as well. A par total on this surface is going to be close to 180.

RSA vs PAK Betting Tips

We think that South Africa is the better-balanced team in home conditions. They certainly have a better batting side and more power to clear the boundaries. Pakistan’s bowling attack is dangerous but their team balance seems a little off. They may continue to miss Mohammad Hafeez for this match as well.

Back South Africa to win.

Today Match Prediction

South Africa To Win the Match, 1.80

Bet Tip Here

Who will win RSA vs PAK

South Africa 53.7% (176)
Pakistan 46.3% (152)
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