The format now switches as South Africa and Pakistan will now battle in a 5-ODI series. The St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth, on Saturday, will host the first ODI. After clean sweeping the visitors in the longest format, the confidence of the hosts would be sky-high. On the other hand, Pakistan would hope for change in fortunes with the change in format. Keep reading to find out South Africa vs Pakistan 1st ODI Match Prediction.

Pakistan has had a torrid time in international cricket of late. They were defeated in UAE by New Zealand and then South Africa in Tests. Their last ODI series was drawn 1-1 against New Zealand. The morale of the dressing room might not be at the best currently. But they would be hoping to resurrect that sooner as the World Cup inches closer.

South Africa, on the other hand, have enjoyed a great run, especially in ODI cricket. The Proteas defeated Sri Lanka and Australia in their own backyard in the 50-over format. But at home, in their last ODI series, India had given them a 5-1 hammering. But there’s a marked difference in Indian and Pakistani ODI outfits at the moment.

Here is our South Africa vs Pakistan 1st ODI Match Prediction

Case1: If South Africa bats first

First Innings score prediction: 270-280

Result prediction: South Africa will win the match by 20-30 runs

Case2: If Pakistan bats first

First Innings score prediction: 230-240

Result prediction: South Africa will win the match by 4 wickets

Head to head in ODIs

Total ODIs: 73, South Africa won: 47, Pakistan won: 25, No Result: 1

Predicted XIs

South Africa

Hashim Amla, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis (c), David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Imran Tahir, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier

Pakistan

Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi

South Africa vs Pakistan 1st ODI Match Prediction: With the change in format, there will be changes in the faces in either side. While the Proteas are aware of the conditions, the Pakistanis might take their time to settle in. Hence, South Africa will start favorites in the opening encounter.

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Disclaimer

Predictions are for entertainment purpose only. We don’t get involved in or promote betting or gambling. We strongly discourage behaviors of participating in illegal activities related to cricket. Our experts try to be as correct as possible, but we do not guarantee 100% correctness.