Daijiworld Media Network

Birmingham, Jun 10 : It's time for the first day night match of the Champions Trophy. It's a battle between the men in green - Pakistan and South Africa. Important game for them as both sides lost their first matches. A loss here will make it very tough to qualify as each team plays only 3 matches in the league stage.

South Africa have won the toss and elected to bat

Misbah: 'It's cold now, wish the sun comes out at some stage. The toss will be crucial. We were looking to bat first as well. But the conditions are overcast and you never know what can happen. We're a side that depends a lot on our bowling line up. Asad Shafiq is not playing, Umar Amin is in.'

AB de Villiers: 'Very important game. All games in this tournament are make or break. We'll bat first. We've got a strong batting line up and we shouldn't lose many wickets upfront. Kleinveldt isn't playing, Aaron Phangiso is in. Morris is making his debut in place of Morne Morkel.'

Pakistan (Playing XI): Nasir Jamshed, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Umar Amin, Kamran Akmal(w), Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan

South Africa (Playing XI): Hashim Amla, Colin Ingram, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers(w/c), Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Robin Peterson, Ryan McLaren, Chris Morris, Aaron Phangiso, Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Match preview:

Pakistan had got the better of South Africa in the warm-up game they played last week but that is history already. Both teams have lost their opening games and in a short, crunched format, they will want to bounce back quickly. Again, both the captains are in good form, but will expect some of their younger Turks to show some more grit come Monday (July 10).

Pakistan

Team News: It was always going to be a contest between Pakistan's bowlers and the opposition's batsmen, but the way Misbah-ul-Haq's men capitulated against West Indies in their opening game would be a major concern going ahead in the tournament. For one, even a 'weak' batting line-up is expected to give their bowlers something to bowl at. The most disconcerting aspect of the Pakistani batting on Friday was the shot selection. One batsman after another played poor shots, when the need of the hour was to stay around with Misbah and give the captain solid support. Nasir Jamshed was as guilty as anyone else in the side, despite a fighting half-century. The southpaw played a shot against character and was done in, just when his team needed him to dig in deeper. Imran Farhat and Asad Shafiq are two men who have the talent to score big against the best but their temperament will be tested in English conditions by the South African pacers.

The Pakistani bowlers toiled manfully in their defence of a paltry score against the West Indies and even raised hopes of a victory at one stage but in all fairness they had too little to bowl with. South Africa, though, have a much better batting line-up than West Indies and wickets may not be as easy to come by for Pakistan's bowlers. The fact that Pakistan had defeated the Proteas in a warm-up game only a week back could give Misbah and his men a lot of hope. After all, they bowled well and Farhat and Mohammad Hafeez played good, solid knocks.

The South Africans haven't got off to a good start in the tournament and with both teams needing to win this one to stay in contention for the semi-final, there's much at stake in this game.

In-form players: The captain stood tall amidst the ruins against a potent West Indies pace attack. Misbah-ul-Haq had a lucky escape even before he had got off the mark. The good thing is, he made it ocunt and went on to notch up his highest score in ODIs - an unbeaten 96.

Misbah is not the sort of batsman who plays expansive drives early in his innings, but does not shy away from upping the ante when the time is right. The Pakistani captain likes to lead from the front and as the most experienced batsman in the team, his role will always be to anchor a young line-up through the vicissitudes of this fast-paced tournament.

Mohammad Irfan has been a nemesis for a lot of batsmen in his short 12-ODI career and he will continue to ask questions of some big names in helpful conditions. Despite making his international debut back in 2010, his career only took off after a sensational tour of India, where his height and lethal swing propelled him to stardom. Against West Indies on Friday, it was this left-arm pacer who rocked their top-order and threatened to pull Pakistan back into the game with another fiery spell. The Proteas will have to handle Irfan with care.

Weak links: Pakistan's batting. Not that the line-up lacks talent, far from it. However, there seems to be a mental block and they almost seem to believe that no matter whatever little they put on the board, it is the responsibility of their more acclaimed colleagues from the bowling department to contain oppositions and win games. At least two of the top-order will have to get runs consistently and help their in-form captain post respectable totals for the bowlers to defend.

South Africa

Team News:

First Kallis and Smith are ruled out of the tournament, for different reasons. Then Steyn suffers an injury and misses the opener against India and is also out of contention for the match against Pakistan. Adding to the South African woes, Morne Morkel sustained a quad strain on the field and had to return in the middle of what was up until then a tight, economical spell and has now gone back home to recover. With four of their biggest stars out of the mix, South Africa have been hit hard. They have always been accused of choking at big match situations and skipper AB de Villiers would have hoped to engineer a winning farewell and a fitting send-off for outgoing coach Gary Kirtsen (he got a special send-off from India, when they won the World Cup in 2011, Kirsten's last assignment with them as coach). From the looks of it, winning the Champions Trophy will take some doing from South Africa.

Kirsten would be scratching his bald head furiously to try and get his combination right for the important game against Pakistan. He knows the Asian side is not one to be trifled with, despite an opening game defeat. Put simply, South Africa desperately need to beat Pakistan after their gut-wrenching loss against India in the tournament opener to stay in the reckoning.

In-form players: Very rarely has Ab de Villiers been out of form over the last few years. Even as South Africa chased a mammoth target against India and suffered some early setbacks, the South African captain dropped anchor and tried to pilot the chase, before he ran out gas and perished for a brilliant and effortless 70. AB, with his wide range of shots, would be the major cog in the wheel for the South Africans, who are already without some of their stars.

Weak links: Not many would have said this about the Proteas but the bowling does look a little weak now. Morne Morkel has gone back home and, once again, there will be no Dale Steyn. Without these two men with the new ball, South Africa look overly dependent on their batsmen to win them games.