Daijiworld Media Network
Abu Dhabi, Nov 8: The 5-match series is at 2-1 in favour of South Africa. Will the Proteas seal the series with a win tonight? Or, will Pakistan bounce back to fight for the cup in the final game? Let's find out as the day progresses, hello and welcome for the fourth 50-over game between the two sides. We are still at Abu Dhabi where the visitors won the previous game by a comfortable margin. There is no doubt that the momentum is still with them. This series so far has been quite similar to the one in 2010. Pakistan would take heart from the fact that they won the 4th ODI then and squared the series 2-2. The pitch here in the last ODI supported the batsmen and it is not expected to change too much. However, the team combination could differ, especially in the Pakistani camp.
South Africa have won the toss and have opted to bat
Misbah: 'We would have batted first as well, but the toss is not in our control. We have made two changes Junaid Khan comes in for Wahab Riaz, Umar Amin makes way for debutant Sohaib Maqsood. I don't think it will turn much but it is certainly going to slow down a lot. We need to improve our performance as a batting unit. You just cannot rely on one or two guys when you are up against quality teams.'
AB de Villiers: 'We will bat first and put pressure on Pakistan again. Just want a better performance from the boys today, I was happy with the previous game. We did very well the other day. We go in with the same team. Pakistan can bounce back, they are a quality team. It will be a great achievement if we can win the series tonight.'
Pitch Report: 'There are a lot of cracks on this wicket, it looks even drier than the previous game. That means that the ball will spin a lot more and it will slow down quite considerably. Captain winning the toss should consider himself very lucky,' reckons Kepler Wessels.
Teams:
Pakistan (Playing XI): Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Asad Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal(w), Sohail Tanvir, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan
South Africa (Playing XI): Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock(w), Faf du Plessis, Jean-Paul Duminy, AB de Villiers(c), David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Imran Tahir