Pakistan and South Africa are set to meet in the third and final ODI on Saturday at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. The series is currently balanced at 1-1, and both teams will battle it out in a winner-takes-all third ODI.

For Pakistan, it has been a tale of contrasts under the leadership of new captain Shaheen Afridi. The hosts showed greater consistency in the first ODI, registering a memorable win. However, the second ODI told a completely different tale, as Pakistan were completely demolished by South Africa across all departments.

As the teams now prepare for the decider, the spotlight is on Pakistan’s star trio of Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, and Mohammad Rizwan. Babar Azam, particularly, has been unable to live up to the expectations, scoring (7) and (11), respectively, in the last two games. These three have long been the backbone of Pakistan’s batting order, and their form will be pivotal in determining Pakistan's fate.

On the other hand, South Africa enter the final match riding a wave of confidence. Their emphatic win in the second ODI, led by the returning Quinton de Kock, scoring a classy century, underlined their fighting spirit in subcontinent conditions. De Kock’s magnificent century was a masterclass, reaffirming his status as one of the great batsmen in white-ball cricket. De Kock, who reversed a decision to retire from the international game and made himself available following a two-year hiatus, fired an unbeaten 123 off 119. South Africa's bowling was also impressive, with Nandre Burger claiming a fiery four-wicket haul and tearing through Pakistan’s top order. Now going into the final game, both teams would expect their players to step up and perform more ruthlessly.

Head-to-head

Matches - 89

PAK won - 35

SA won - 53

NR - 01

Pakistan probable XI: Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi (c), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah

South Africa probable XI: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Quinton de Kock (wk), Tony de Zorzi, Matthew Breetzke (c), Sinethemba Qeshile, Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Bjorn Fortuin, Nandre Burger, Nqabayomzi Peter