Ahead of their other Group 2 matches on Wednesday, they topped the table with two wins from three matches, including a win over India. South Africa’s third match was washed out due to rain. In contrast, Pakistan are placed fifth and if South Africa beat them at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday, they will be assured of a place in the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Pakistan’s much-hyped opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have failed to do well in the three matches in the World Cup and are under pressure to find form and play fast. “I think that’s an area to take advantage of,” middle-order batsman David Miller said. “This match is about confidence and they probably didn’t perform the way they wanted to,” Said David Miller.
But they are world-class players and we are expecting them to come out and bring their A-game and be up for the challenge. Pakistan bowler Naseem Shah denied that his team was still sticking to the crushing defeat in the first match against India.
Pakistan were beaten off the last ball by their arch-rivals and then lost to Zimbabwe and then thrashed the Netherlands. Fast bowler Naseem told reporters that Pakistan had failed to recover mentally from India’s defeat, adding, “No, I don’t think so because everyone is professional and everyone knows about themselves.
We lost against India, but I don’t think anyone is thinking about India’s game because as a professional you can’t think about the past when you lose, especially, you can’t think so. Miller scored an unbeaten half-century in the five-wicket win over India that underlined South Africa’s title credentials and their resilience.
“I think we are looking for a lot of ways to win. “We have done it over time. I would say maybe last year, we have found ourselves in difficult situations and managed to get over the line. “I think the consistency of the team over time, people have managed to find their roles and if one guy is not doing well, the other guy picks up dull.