Match overview
Pakistan beat South Africa by 2 wickets in a tense ODI at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad on 4 November 2025. South Africa posted 263 all out after a solid powerplay gave way to a six-wicket middle-overs collapse. Pakistan's chase was far from straightforward: they lost 8 wickets before reaching the 264-run target, with 4 of those falling in the death overs. Agha Salman was named Player of the Match. Pakistan had won the toss and elected to field first.
South Africa's innings told a familiar story of a promising start undone in the middle. They reached the end of the powerplay at 62/0, a platform that suggested a total well above 300 was possible. The middle phase, however, cost them 6 wickets for 149 runs, and the death brought 4 more as they were skittled for 263. Pakistan's bowlers deserve credit for dragging the innings back after a bright opening.
Pakistan's reply was composed in the powerplay, 53 runs with no wickets lost, before the chase tightened considerably. The middle overs brought 153 runs but also 4 wickets. It was the final phase that made it a genuine contest: 58 runs came at the cost of 4 wickets, leaving Pakistan's lower order to finish the job. They did, though only just.
Venue and conditions
Iqbal Stadium has hosted 11 ODIs according to our venue records, and the numbers paint a clear picture: teams batting second have won every one of them. The chase success rate sits at 100 per cent, which partly explains Pakistan's decision to field first after winning the toss. Only 14 per cent of toss winners at this venue have opted to bowl, so Pakistan bucked the convention in one sense, yet aligned with it in another by chasing.
The average first and second innings scores here are both 278, suggesting an evenly balanced surface in theory. In practice, South Africa's 263 fell 15 runs short of that average, which gave Pakistan a more manageable target. The powerplay average at the ground is 27 runs, so both sides exceeded that figure in the opening phase. The death-overs average of 23 runs from our data also indicates that boundary-hitting becomes harder late in the piece, which is consistent with Pakistan's 4-wicket death-overs struggle.
The pitch at Faisalabad tends to offer assistance to seamers early before settling into a batting surface. South Africa losing the majority of their wickets in the middle overs rather than the powerplay suggests the surface was true enough but rewarded disciplined bowling.
How to watch
Pakistan home ODIs are typically available in the UK on Sky Sports Cricket. Subscribers can stream via Sky Go, and a NOW TV day pass remains an option for those without a full Sky package. Check the Sky Sports website for the confirmed broadcast schedule for the remainder of this series.
Recent form
The form picture coming into this fixture was tightly balanced between the two sides. Pakistan's last five results in 2025 read W, W, L, L, W against South Africa, whilst South Africa's mirror those results exactly from their own perspective: L, L, W, W, L. Three of those five matches were played at Pakistani venues, underlining how heavily the bilateral series has shaped both sides' 2025 records.
South Africa's two wins earlier in 2025 came by margins of 8 wickets and 55 runs, so they are capable of dominant performances against this Pakistan side. Pakistan's victories, including a 9-wicket win and a 7-wicket win at Gaddafi Stadium, show they can be equally emphatic. This 2-wicket result was their closest finish in the series so far. The next fixture in the series will determine how the final standings look across what has been a competitive run of ODIs between these two sides.