Storm of boundaries, sixes moves from Lahore to Karachi

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The storm of boundaries and sixes has now shifted from Lahore to Karachi as Pakistan and South Africa are set to play an important match in the Triangular Cricket Series on Wednesday at the National Stadium in Karachi. The winning team will secure a spot in the final, where they will face New Zealand for the trophy on Friday. The Green Shirts will enter the field with the determination to make up for their heavy defeat against the Kiwis in the opening match. Having beaten the Proteas in their own backyard, Pakistan's confidence will be high. Mohammad Hasnain will replace the injured Haris Rauf, and Saud Shakeel has been included in the squad, with Kamran Ghulam being dropped. Fakhar Zaman will once again be in the spotlight, and there are high expectations for match-winning performances from Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. The pitch looks favorable for batting, and the team winning the toss is expected to choose to bat first. South Africa's squad is also getting reinforcement with key players joining, including batter Heinrich Klaasen and pacers Corbin Bosch and Kwena Mphaka.

The winning team will advance to the final on Sunday to play against New Zealand for the trophy. The two matches in Lahore were high-scoring, with three out of four innings crossing the 300-run mark. However, Karachi's average score is under 290. Pakistan's recent form in ODI cricket has been impressive, as they have won their last three series, including victories against Australia and South Africa on their home turf. Key contributions came from Saim Ayub's brilliant batting and the pacers' excellent spells. However, Saim has been ruled out due to injury, and the pacers seemed ineffective on the home pitch. This was evident when New Zealand posted 330 runs in the first match at the Gaddafi Stadium, with the last six overs seeing 98 runs scored. Main bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi gave away 25 runs in the final overs, and Naseem Shah was also ineffective. Haris Rauf, who got injured, could only bowl 6.2 overs and has been ruled out of the tournament. Mohammad Hasnain will replace him in action on Wednesday. Kamran Ghulam has been dropped, and Saud Shakeel has been added to the squad. Pakistan has selected only Abrar Ahmed as a spinner, as part-time spinners like Khushdil Shah and Salman Ali Agha were not successful in the previous match. They will once again be under pressure to perform well.

In the batting department, Fakhar Zaman will be the focus, as he made a great comeback with 84 runs in the first match. Babar Azam has not been successful as an opener against New Zealand, but fans are hoping for a big innings from him to avoid another disappointing performance like when he was dismissed for just 252 runs against New Zealand. Saud Shakeel and captain Mohammad Rizwan will also need to play significant knocks, while Salman Ali Agha, Tayyab Tahir, and Khushdil Shah will be expected to score quickly.

On the other hand, South Africa, although they lost their first match against New Zealand, saw debutant Matthew Breetzke make a record-breaking 150, announcing his arrival in style. After the SA T20, players have started joining the squad, and captain Temba Bavuma and Ryan Mulder will be key players that the team will rely on. However, the bowling attack will be under pressure, as they were unable to defend a total of 304 runs against New Zealand. The addition of pacers Corbin Bosch and Kwena Mphaka will strengthen the bowling attack. Both pacers, along with other teammates, had a solid practice session at the National Stadium the previous day. Senior batter Heinrich Klaasen will also be available for the match.

The National Stadium, which has recently undergone renovations, has reopened, and the pitch looks favorable for batting. The team winning the toss is likely to opt to bat first, as in the last six matches here, teams chasing targets have struggled, losing five out of the six games.