Match Day Live with Urooj Mumtaz, Shane Bond and Cheteshwar Pujara
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A World Cup classic in Chepauk!
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Heartache for Pakistan, ELATION FOR SOUTH AFRICA!
Oh, what a finish! South Africa get themselves over the line in one of the great World Cup games! They rode their luck slightly, but ultimately held their composure. Maharaj pounced on a short delivery from Nawaz, depositing him behind fine leg. And it's Nawaz again who falls to his knees, while South Africa bask in the glory of that one thing they don't often manage: getting over the line in a close World Cup finish
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Haris could have finished the game, but Umpire's call saves South Africa!
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Pakistan 1 wicket away!
Sensational diving return catch from Haris Rauf with his left hand leaves South Africa nine down. Shamsi faces Haris with Maharaj helpless at the other end!
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Chepauk crowd offering Pakistan strong support
Our man in Chennai Deiva Muthu says the crowd, which is officially 29,870 strong (plus schoolchildren) is leaning heavily in Pakistan's favour here.
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South Africa survive Shaheen Afridi
That over felt like a moment of extreme peril for South Africa, with Shaheen's last six balls to go and Lungi Ngidi on strike. But the South African duo have negotiated him effectively, and now Pakistan must find a way to get two more wickets without their talisman.
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The momentum is shifting
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It's happening!
South Africa lose one more, Shaheen drawing a bottom edge off Coetzee, and they haven't made more inroads into this. 21 still to get and Shaheen could finish it off this over
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Markram falls - are Pakistan really back in this?
The answer has to be yes. Swipe across the line, the sort of shot he has executed dozens of times this WC, and yet the extra flight and turn from Usama Mir does for Aiden Markram, 9 runs shy of a hundred.
South Africa must get 21 runs with the tail.
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Marco's cameo comes to an end!
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But has he done enough before Rauf's slower ball snared him?
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Or not! Miller falls
Feathered through to Rizwan off Shaheen, and Miller falls! Marco Jansen will come in now, the last "recognised" batter for South Africa, and 65 runs suddenly look a longer way off now.
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Last rites for Pakistan
200 up for South Africa
There are 17 overs to go, six wickets to go, and South Africa are biting chunks out of this target now
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South Africa steadily building another partnership
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Another day, another Markram masterclass
52 off 50
He slices it over backward point and it runs away for four, bringing up hos fourth 50+ score in six innings this World Cup
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Usama Mir gets Rassie first over
He was brought in as a concussion sub for Shadsb, and it takes him just five balls t strike. Gets one to skid on to van der Dussen, and it trapped him on the back leg. The umpire raised his finger immediately though it did look like it was going down. Umpire's call on both impact and hitting the stumps. It's flicking by the breadth of a hair. Rassie unlucky, but he has to go.
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South Africa cruising along nicely now
There's a long way to go, but for now South Africa are well on top. They've lost the openers, but each did their job well enough, and Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen have taken over nicely.
vdD looks supremely comfortably, while Markram is sizzling, as you'd expect for a man in the form he's in. Babar Azam is ringing the changes, but there's no sign yet of any of the bowlers returning to form
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Pakistan's inability to convert starts at this World Cup - by Shiva Jayaraman
The inability to convert starts into big scores has not only been an issue with the Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, but it seems to be a malaise that’s affecting their entire batting line up in this World Cup. A problem that was illustrated in Pakistan’s innings in this match. Four of their batters crossed 30 but none of them went on to make it count with a big score. In the end Pakistan folded with 20 balls going unused in their innings.
Pakistan were able to ace a record chase against Sri Lanka (the highest successful chase any team has managed at the World Cups) because two of the three batters who got off to decent starts – Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan - went on to make hundreds. However, their batters have struggled to reproduce these efforts in other matches in spite of getting starts.
Pakistan batters have scored of 30 or more runs 22 times in six matches in this World Cup. But 18 of those innings have ended with them getting dismissed before scoring 70. That’s 81.8% of those innings not getting converted into substantial innings that could’ve made difference to Pakistan’s totals. Fifteen of those innings have been below 60. These are highest percentage of non-conversions for any team in this World Cup. No other team's batting has flattered to deceive as often in this World Cup.
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Bavuma takes Haris Rauf on
Bavuma isn't known for being ultra aggressive up top, but even he's not going to spare the out-of-form Haris Rauf. He lands one on length and Bavuma goes back and clobbers him over wide long-on, the ball smashing into the rope. Worrying signs for Pakistan
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Before Shaheen nails de Kock
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de Kock nails Shaheen
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"This is the one thing we didn't want to happen"
That'll be the mood in Pakistan as Shadab Khan goes off with a freak concussion first over. Looking to throw while diving, he appeared to hit his head on the ground and looked dazed for several minutes before being helped up to leave the field
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Pakistan fold with 20 balls to go
270 in 46.4 overs
That's a wrap. South Africa have been clinical with the ball in the absence of Kagiso Rabada, and skittled Pakistan out with a decent chunk of the innings to go. Pakistan got starts but aside from one partnership between Saud Shakeel and Shadab Khan, not too much of substance. Tabraiz Shamsi and Marco Jansen lit South Africa's bowling attack up, taking seven of the 10 wickets, and Pakistan fail to take advantage of the death overs.
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South Africa clean up the tail
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Shadab falls, Saud gets a half-century
Coetzee struck once more to get rid of a dangerous Shadab in a budding sixth wicket partnership for Pakistan. But Saud Shakeel is still around, bringing up a 49-ball 50 to keep Pakistan on track for 300.
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The Saud-Shadab counterattack - by Deivarayan Muthu
Pakistan were perhaps staring at a full-blown collapse when Shamsi got rid of Babar and had them at 141 for 5. But Shadab Khan and Saud Shakeel have propped them up with some proactive batting. The left-handed Shakeel picked away South Africa's left-arm spinners with relative ease and is now using Coetzee's extra pace and bounce to his advantage. As for Shadab, he put Shamsi out of the attack after he created swinging room, collapsed his back knee, and pumped him over long-off for six, clearing one of the bigger boundaries at Chepauk. The pitch has somewhat slowed down, but Shadab and Shakeel are manufacturing their own pace and scoring opportunities.
Shadab will also have a role to play with the ball later in the evening. On the eve of the game, he spoke about the workload of being an allrounder: "I think the workload of an allrounder is double compared to others. You have to give extra time in all three positions. Sometimes it is difficult to adjust the time. But since I am a bowling allrounder, my main focus is to give as much time as possible to bowling. Batting is my plus point and it helps the team to balance. So, I try to keep doing extra as an allrounder. Because in white ball cricket, allrounders are a good balance for the team. So, I try to perform in both the fields in a way that helps the team."
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Counterattacking partnership
53 off 45 balls
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Shadab takes on Maharaj
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Yet again, 50 and no more!
A rash sweep, a kiss of the ball on glove, a canny review, and a Pakistan captain felled! Moments after reaching his half-century, Babar is dismissed once more, and Pakistan slide further into the mire
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Third in four matches for Babar
50 in 64 balls
Each of the last two matches he's scored 50, his team has needed more. He has yet to convert that promise into a three-figure score. And once more, his team desperately needs it
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Tabraiz Shamsi strikes
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Lots of dot balls, the occasional boundary
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Another short ball, another Pakistan wicket
Pakistan fall to the short ball as if this is the 2027 World Cup, being played in Southern Africa. Rizwan has a swipe at a bit of a nothing ball off Coetzee, gets a nick through to the keeper. At the start of his innings, when he had his little tiff with Marco Jansen, it was Coetzee who came in to back his buddy up. And he's done it with the ball too, and lets out a guttural roar fairly close to Rizwan, who shuffles along to the pavilion.
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Pakistan up top - a mixed bag
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Third Pak keeper to the milestone
2000 ODI runs for Mohammad Rizwan
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Jansen and close-in catchers - from Firdose Moonda
South Africa have devised a few plans about using close in fielders with Marco Jansen searching for early movement and so far, it's worked twice. Against England, they put a wide leg slip in place for Joe Root, who duly tried to go around the corner and fed the ball into his hands. In this match, Heinrich Klaasen was at a deep slip/short third position, Jansen bowled a full, wide delivery, Imam-ul-Haq slashed and the trap worked.
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Jansen's eventful over
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Shafique falls as Pakistan willing to wound, yet afraid to strike
Neither side has come out of the blocks firing. South Africa's lengths have been fine but not exactly penetrating, and they've thrown in enough loose deliveries. Pakistan haven't leapt out of the blocks, appearing to be searching for the right mixture between positive and cautious. The bad deliveries have been put away, but there are plenty of dot balls too.
And eventually, that sort of simmering pressure will take its toll. 208cm Marco Jansen bangs one in to Shafique, who swivels to try and pull it over fine leg, ending up top-edging it straight into the hands of the fielder.
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Pakistan - South Africa's bogey team?
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The anthems are done, the action is imminent
We're got Nkosi Sikelel and Pak Sarzameen done and out of the way. And on a day where everyone's talking about the intense, oppressive heat, South Africa's bowlers and fielders will have to front up in the sunshine
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Match Day Live with Urooj Mumtaz, Cheteshwar Pujara and Shane Bond
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Pakistan win the toss - and bat first
Pakistan have made two changes, with Hasan Ali ruled out due to fever. Mohammad Nawaz also returns, taking Usama Mir's place.
South Africa will be chasing for just the second time this tournament. Temba Bavuma admitted they would also have batted first. THey have made three changes, with Bavuma, Shamsi and Ngidi coming in, with Hendricks, Coetzee and Rabada missing out.
Rabada misses out due to back spaspms, and given a back injury ruled Anrich Nortje out of the whole tournament, South Africa are taking no chances.
Pakistan: 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Shaheen Afridi, 10 Mohammad Wasim, 11 Haris Rauf
South Africa: 1 Temba Bavuma (capt) 2 Quinton de Kock (wk) 3 Rassie van der Dussen 4 Aiden Markram 5 Heinrich Klaasen 6 Davud Miller 7 Marco Jansen 8 Keshav Maharaj 9 Tabraiz Shamsi 10 Gerald Coetzee 11 Lungi Ngidi
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Pakistan vs South Africa - we're almost there
Hello, all.
It's Pakistan vs South Africa today. In Chennai. Where it's been raining a fair but the past day or so. Thankfully, it's sunny now, and there's no reason to believe, at the moment at least, that the match won't play out as planned.
While we wait for proper updates, you can catch up on the big picture ahead of the match, news from the two teams, and everything else to do with the fixture in the preview.
There's more, of course.
Deivarayan Muthu wonders what's gone wrong with Haris Rauf. Firdose Moonda has some thoughts on the South Africa bowling. And Karthik Krishnaswamy is celebrating Heinrich Klaasen's quasi-pull.
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