South Africa and Pakistan will square off in the T20 World Cup’s 36th game at Sydney Cricket Ground.
In the T20 World Cup, Pakistan has made a negligible difference. They have not been able to produce performances that would win games. In particular, their middle order has struggled, which has affected their batting.
However, South Africa, led by Quintont de Kock, who is in excellent form with the bat and Rilee Rossouw, who scored a magnificent century in their previous match, would like to build on the momentum they established.
There are currently many battles for the Pakistani team to win in this game. While simultaneously addressing their bat-related issues, they must be extremely accurate with the ball in their hands.
Top picks from Pakistan
Mohammad Rizwan is skilled at playing both the pull shot and the cover drive off the front foot. He can score runs quickly when he settles down and plays pickup flicks over the leg side beautifully.
In his 75 T20 International games played to date, he has amassed 2478 runs at a batting average of 50.57 and a strike rate of 127.14. He is a crucial component of Pakistan’s batting lineup and excels at playing straight down the ground.
Fakhar Zaman is very good on the pull shot and is predominantly a backfoot player. Being a backfoot player will keep him in good stead in a place like Australia because it becomes important, looking at the bounce on the Australian pitches.
The anchor of Pakistan’s batting order is Babar Azam, who can hit excellent shots square through the off-side. He can play a classic cut short in front of the off side and has a very good back foot punch in front of the point.
The success of Babar Azam is vital for the cause of Pakistan. He has played 94 T20 International matches, scored 3235 runs, with a batting average of 42.56 and a strike rate of 129.29 in his T20 career so far.
Top picks from South Africa
To ball to Rilee Rossouw is very difficult.
Both a straight over the top of mid-off and a powerful pull shot through midwicket are skills that Rilee Rossouw possesses. His lofted extra cover drives are astounding when playing spinners.
In his current T20 career, Quinton de Kock has played 74 T20 International games, amassed 2142 runs, a batting average of 33.46, and a strike rate of 136.34.
It’s fun to watch him perform his delightful cut shot and on-drive between mid-off and mid-on.
Reeza Hendricks has played 48 T20 International matches, scored 1372 runs, with a batting average of 29.82 and a strike rate of 125.41 in his T20 career so far.
A good player of the pull and the cut shot he has a good back foot game. He plays the cut shot well against the spinner and is a brilliant fielder.
