South Africa win the toss and choose to bowl first against Pakistan

South Africa's top-order batsmen will want to up their scoring-rate in Durban today.

(Web Desk) - After lossing the first one-day international (ODI) against Pakistan with a five-wicket margin, South Africa will be desperate to win the match in Durban on Tuesday (today), and prevent further loss in the five-match series.

South Africa lost just two wickets in the series opener in Port Elizabeth, but still couldn t breach the 300-run mark, ending the innings at 266/2. It was a target that Mohammad Hafeez, the Pakistan batsman, said his side were always confident of chasing, given it was "below par".

South Africa s top-order batsmen will want to up their scoring-rate in Durban, not just to give their bowlers something to defend, but also to gain a psychological advantage against Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Cricket South Africa applauded Pakistan for an outstanding performance in the match in its official tweet.

It s all over in Port Elizabeth, Pakistan win the first Momentum ODI by 5 wickets and go 1-0 up in the 5-match series. What a match! Hard luck to our boys, we re backing you to bounce back in Durban next Tuesday.#SAvPAK #ProteaFire pic.twitter.com/vziR58g16D

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) January 19, 2019

To do that, they will be reliant on the experienced duo of Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, especially in the absence of the rested Quinton de Kock and the injured JP Duminy. The in-form Rassie van der Dussen, who scored a 101-ball 93 in the first ODI, will also hope to play a big role once again.

South Africa will also be buoyed by the performance of their bowlers, who pushed Pakistan to the final over in a relatively small chase. Duanne Olivier, the standout star from the Tests, returned two wickets in the first ODI, albeit for 73 runs. If he can hit the straps again, along with the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir, Pakistan will be troubled.

That said, the visitors will be delighted with their victory in Port Elizabeth. All of Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam and Hafeez came good with the bat, and they will hope for more of the same in Durban.

As for the bowlers, the visitors would have been happy to keep South Africa to a low score, but will hope for more end-product in the coming games. In the first ODI, they used seven different bowlers but could pick up just two wickets. A lot will depend on Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan – Pakistan s only wicket-takers in Port Elizabeth.

Key players

Hashim Amla (South Africa): Amla s last three scores in international cricket are 108*, 41 and 71. In Port Elizabeth, he overtook Virat Kohli (169 innings) to become the fastest ODI batsman to 27 centuries (167 innings). He is the pivot around which the South Africa batting line-up operates, and his form comes at a good time for the home side.

Babar Azam (Pakistan): Azam, No.5 on MRF Tyres ICC ODI Batting Rankings, has been in impressive form on this tour. He scored two half-centuries in the Test series before notching a 69-ball 49 in the first ODI.

Conditions

The forecast suggests optimal playing conditions on match-day. Teams batting first have had more success at Kingsmead over the years. In the last ODI at Kingsmead, two spinners, India s Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, claimed five scalps between them. It suggests the surface might have something in it for the slow bowlers.

Squads

South Africa: Faf du Plessis(c), Hashim Amla, Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Duanne Olivier

Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed(c), Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Shoaib Malik, Usman Khan