South Africa won the Toss Vs Pak

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first in the first of five one-day internationals (ODI) at St George s Park in Port Elizabeth.

For both teams, the series is an important step towards the Cricket World Cup in England and Wales later this year.

Pakistan will be banking on the return of experienced batsmen Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez as well as Fakhar Zaman who was the green shirts best batsman during the previous ODI series against New Zealand with 154 runs. Meanwhile, Mohammad Amir has been dropped from the playing XI for the first ODI.

Rassie van der Dussen and Duanne Olivier will be making their ODI debuts for the hosts. In the absence of Dale Steyn, who has been rested for first two games, Olivier will be expected to lead the attack from the front, who topped the charts with 24 wickets against Pakistan in the Test series.

Port Elizabeth usually has one of the slowest pitches in South Africa, which should suit the tourists. In their most recent appearance at the ground, in November 2013, they clinched their only ODI series win in South Africa.

Playing XI
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Faf du Plessis (captain), David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Kagiso Rabada, Dwaine Pretorius, Duanne Olivier and Imran Tahir

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain & wicketkeeper), Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Fahim Ashraf, Hasan Ali and Usman Shinwari