Pakistan Friday won the toss and decided to bowl first against South Africa in the first one-day international (ODI) being played at the SuperSport Park, Centurion.

The Proteas were sent in to bat first in the opening Betway one-day international match by Pakistani skipper Babar Azam.

Pakistan head into the series having won a two-Test series two-nil and a T20 series two-one against the Proteas in Pakistan earlier this year and will hope to take that momentum into the ODI and T20 series in South Africa.

The Proteas will however be eager to respond with a strong showing at home and will be aiming to lay down a mark in the first match of the series.

After winning the toss, Babar Azam said “There’s a little bit of moisture in the wicket which is why we wanted to bowl first. Our plan is to get a good start. This is a very important series for us. The first game is crucial for us. We want to get the momentum if we want to win the series. We have three fast bowlers and a spinner in the team, one all-rounder and Danish on debut. We will try to restrict them to 270-275.”

South Africa captain Bavuma said “I feel good. It’s a lovely day. Good day to be on the golf course. It’s the beginning of something. We would like to start off on a good note. We are looking forward to the times ahead and what we can create as a group.”

The first ODI between Pakistan and South Africa is the 80th 50-over contest between the two teams since they first faced off in the format in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 1992.

The match is also the first time these two countries have come to play each other in international 50-over cricket since the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 when Pakistan won by 49 runs at the iconic Lord’s.

South Africa: de Kock (wk), Markram, Bavuma (captain), van der Dussen, Klaasen, Miller, Phehlukwayo, Rabada, Nortje, Ngidi, Shamsi.

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Danish Aziz, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf