Pakistan vs South Africa, 1st ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Breetzke: It looks a bit dry and we have heard that the dew comes in later so we will have to assess in the first ten overs. We have taken a lot of lessons from the T20I series but we have done well in the format in the past few months and we will take confidence from that. We have three debuts.

Shaheen Afridi: We will bowl first. It's fresh, it's been a long time since an ODI was played here. It's a good opportunity and responsibility, I will try to enjoy and give confidence to the players. Everyone is looking forward to the series.

South Africa, on the other hand, have a largely second-string side. There’s abundance of talent in their ranks but there’s inexperience especially in sub-continental conditions. Matthew Breetzke has been appointed as their captain for this series. The dynamic young batter has hit a purple patch with the bat at the beginning of his ODI career but there will be added pressure of captaincy on him now. The big setback for the Proteas is that Dewald Brevis has been ruled of this series due to a low-grade shoulder muscle strain he suffered during the third T20I. His replacement hasn't been announced yet. The odds seem to be against the visitors but can they rise to the occasion? Stick around the for the toss and team lineups...

14:00 Local Time, 09:00 GMT, 14:30 IST: Hello and a warm welcome to our live coverage of the first match of the 3-match ODI series between Pakistan and South Africa at Faisalabad. The hosts will be in good spirits as they won the recently concluded T20I series 2-1 against the Proteas. International cricket returns to Faisalabad after 17 years and all the three games will be played at this venue. Shaheen Afridi has been announced as the new captain of the Pakistan ODI side, replacing Mohammad Rizwan. The last time Pakistan played in an ODI against South Africa, they registered their highest chase in the format with both Rizwan and Agha notching up centuries. Pakistan have also won four of their last five games against the Proteas and that augurs well for them. Although Pakistan have only won one of their last five games in the format, having done well of late against South Africa gives them a psychological edge.

Pakistan Squad: Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Hussain Talat, Salman Agha, Hasan Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi(c), Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Faisal Akram, Haseebullah Khan

South Africa Squad: Quinton de Kock(w), Tony de Zorzi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Matthew Breetzke(c), Donovan Ferreira, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Sinethemba Qeshile, George Linde, Bjorn Fortuin, Lizaad Williams, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman, Nandre Burger, Nqabayomzi Peter