Hosts South Africa take on Pakistan in the third T20 of the 4-match series at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday. The series is currently tied at 1-1.

South Africa bounced back in style in the second T20 as they restricted Pakistan to just 140 runs on a good batting wicket thanks to some outstanding bowling and fielding display. They chased the below-par target in just 14 overs with 6 wickets to spare. G Linde and L Williams set up the game for the hosts with the ball, which was then ably finished by Markram and skipper Klaasen. The team will hope for more of the same in this match.

Pakistan tried to attack the Proteas bowlers from the start and in the process lost early wickets. Only skipper B Azam and M Hafeez made meaningful contributions as they labored through the whole innings. The total was never going to be enough despite some good bowling by U Qadir and Hassan Ali. The team will look for a much-improved batting effort here.

With the series nicely poised, expect both teams to come hard at each other in a cracking game of cricket at Centurion on Wednesday.

Match Details

• Match: South Africa vs. Pakistan, 3rd T20
• Venue: SuperSport Park, Centurion
• Date & Time: Apr. 14, 2021 at 6 PM IST

Probable Playing XI

South Africa

J Malan, A Markram, W Lubbe, H Klaasen (C & WK), P Van Biljon, G Linde, A Phehlukwayo, S Magala, T Shamsi, B Hendricks, L Williams

Pakistan

M Rizwan (WK), B Azam (C), F Zaman, M Hafeez, Haider Ali, F Ashraf, M Nawaz, Hassan Ali, S Afridi, H Rauf, U Qadir

Weather and Pitch Report

Centurion is expected to have clear weather during the match. The temperature will be around 28 degrees during the game.

The track at the SuperSport Park is quite good for batting and remains true throughout the game. Seamers will get some bounce when the ball is new. Batsmen will have to bide their time and attack once the shine wears off the new ball. With not much help available for them, spinners will have to rely on their lengths and variations. The average first innings score in the last five T20I matches played here has been 177 runs.

Out of the last 5 T20I played here, only 2 have been won by the teams chasing. Keeping that in mind, the captain winning the toss will most likely choose to bat first. A first innings score of around 190 runs should be a competitive one.

Key Players

• A Markram has scored two back-to-back half-centuries in this series so far. In 2 matches, he has scored 105 runs at an average of 52.5. In absence of the regular players, he has been solid at the top of the order for South Africa.
• H Klaasen will be happy with the result of the last game, especially after losing a close game in the first T20. He has led from the front in the first two matches, scoring 86 runs and finishing the innings for the team. 
• G Linde got the Player of the Match award for his all-round performances in the second T20I. He picked up 3 crucial wickets at an economy rate of 5.8, took 2 catches, and remained scored 20* runs from just 10 balls to finish the game.  
• B Azam is a class player and can not be kept quiet for two matches in a row. In the last game, he scored a crucial half-century for his team while wickets were falling at the other end. He will look to make the occasion of his 50th T20I more memorable. 
• M Rizwan got dismissed without scoring on the very first ball of the last match. It was a rare failure in an otherwise consistent string of runs in this format. He has scored 4 half-centuries in his last 6 T20I and will look to bounce back into his scoring mode here.
• Hassan Ali has taken 3 wickets in the first two matches of the series at an economy of 7.33. He can be a handy lower-order batsman as seen in the last ODI played here. He will look to take more wickets and win the game for the visitors.

Howzat Dream Team

• Wicketkeepers: H Klassen, M Rizwan 
• Batsmen: A Markram, B Azam, P Van Biljon
• All-rounders: M Hafeez, M Nawaz, G Linde
• Bowlers: S Afridi, Hassan Ali, L Williams 

• Captain: H Klaasen/A Markram
• Vice Captain: B Azam/M Rizwan 

NOTE: The Howzat dream team above is just a suggestion. You can make your match prediction and play fantasy cricket matches. Also, don’t forget to make any necessary changes to your team once the actual playing 11 is announced by each team (30 minutes before the start of the match) as some players you have selected might not be part of the team suggested.

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