Pakistan vs South Africa, 7th Match, Group B - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

TOSS

AB de Villiers has opted to bat first. South Africa are unchanged. Pakistan had already confirmed two changes. For the record: Shehzad and Riaz are out; Fakhar and Junaid come in. Fakhar gets his maiden ODI cap from senior allrounder Shoaib Malik.

Pitch report

"Same pitch was used in the previous encounter between India and Pakistan, looks very flat to me. There's a lot of runs in it. Don't expect too much lateral movement. There's some footmarks which shouldn't come into play. Captain who wins the toss should bat first and put up a big score," says Saba Karim in the pitch report.

Toss coming up in few moments from now. Here's the preview for you meanwhile, from Tristan Holme.

Injury concerns

Pakistan were dealth with a major blow in their tournament opener when Wahab Riaz suffered an ankle injury. Subsequently, he was ruled out of the tournament and ICC confirmed Rumman Raees as his replacement. However, Pakistan confirmed that Fakhar Zaman will be making his ODI debut in this game. He's replacing Ahmed Shehzad at the top of the order.

Conditions

A lot of focus in the recent times has been on the notorious English weather which has robbed several teams of crucial points. This game is a day-nighter and at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The good news for now is that the sun it out in its fully glory, though a moment ago it looked overcast.

Build up

Pakistan began their campaign against India and, as has been their record in the ICC events against their arch-rivals, they failed to get going with a win. And coach Mickey Arthur was sujected to a lot of flak from the media in the aftermath. South Africa, on the other hand, might not have been at their best against Sri Lanka but were stil good enough to brush them aisde and are now on the second spot in the points table. But you can never really rule Pakistan out, especially given that they have beaten their opponents for tonight, South Africa, thrice in the last four bilateral fixtures. Even at the last ICC event - the 2015 World Cup - they got one over the AB de Villiers-led side. Today, though, Pakistan are in a must-win situation if they have to keep their chances of making it to the knockouts alive. South Africa would be looking for a win tonight to join hosts England in the semis. Ground fielding is another area of concern for Pakistan.

Hello and welcome to our live blog of the 7th game of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, between one of the pre-tournament favourites South Africa and Pakistan.

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