Pakistan, South Africa squads arrive in Faisalabad for ODI series

FAISALABAD: The Pakistan and South Africa cricket teams have arrived in Faisalabad ahead of the upcoming three-match ODI series, scheduled to be played from November 4 to 8 at the Faisalabad Cricket Stadium.

Both sides will rest today, with the Proteas set to hold a training session tomorrow from 2 PM to 5 PM, while the hosts will practice in the evening at 6 PM.

The tour is nearing its conclusion following the completion of the Test and T20I series.

The two-match Test series ended in a 1-1 draw, while Pakistan clinched the three-match T20I series 2-1 after winning the decider in Lahore on Saturday, courtesy of a match-winning performance by star batter Babar Azam.

Chasing a modest target of 140 in the final T20I, Pakistan reached the mark with six balls to spare, powered by Babar’s fluent 68 off 47 balls, featuring nine boundaries.

Agha Salman contributed a valuable 33 off 26 deliveries, while Faheem Ashraf and Usman Khan held their nerves to guide Pakistan home after a brief middle-order collapse.

Earlier, skipper Agha Salman’s decision to bowl first paid dividends as Shaheen Afridi and Salman Mirza struck early blows, restricting South Africa to 139 for nine in their allotted 20 overs.

Historically, Pakistan and South Africa have met 87 times in One-Day Internationals (ODIs), with Pakistan winning 34 matches, while South Africa emerged victorious in 52 encounters.

Squads:

Pakistan: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha.

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