Pak vs South Africa
Pakistan vs South Africa — live match guide, the 2025-26 series results, head-to-head records across formats, and how to watch every ball.
Last updated: 11 October 2026
The Essentials
Pak vs SA at a Glance
The rivalry in four numbers.
Live Coverage
Watch Pak vs SA Live
How to follow Pakistan vs South Africa ball by ball.
TV Broadcast
In Pakistan, PCB-broadcast matches air on PTV Sports and Ten Sports; in South Africa on SuperSport. ICC events carry their own broadcast partners per region.
Live Streaming
Official streaming via the broadcasters’ apps (Tamasha, Tapmad and Myco in Pakistan for PCB rights; SuperSport app in SA). Avoid pirate streams — they’re illegal and unreliable.
Match Timings
Home Tests/ODIs in Pakistan typically start at 10:00 AM / 3:30 PM PKT; day-night T20Is at 6:30 PM PKT. South Africa is 3 hours behind Pakistan (SAST = PKT − 3).
Oct–Nov 2025
South Africa Tour of Pakistan 2025-26
The WTC champions’ all-format tour — Pakistan’s best home series in years.
| Format | Result | Standouts |
|---|---|---|
| Tests (2) | Drawn 1–1 | Pakistan won Lahore by 93 runs (Noman Ali 10 wkts); SA won Rawalpindi by 8 wickets (Harmer ran through Pak) |
| ODIs (3) | Pakistan 2–1 | Saim Ayub top-scored (169); de Kock’s comeback 123*; Abrar 7 wickets |
| T20Is (3) | Pakistan 2–1 | Saim Ayub 108 runs; Faheem Ashraf 6 wickets, player of the series |
Captains: Shan Masood (Tests) vs Aiden Markram (standing in for Bavuma); Shaheen Afridi (ODIs) vs Matthew Breetzke; Salman Ali Agha (T20Is) vs Donovan Ferreira. Asif Afridi, 38, debuted in Tests with 6–79 — Pakistan’s third-oldest debutant. Series deep-dive →
The Record
Head-to-Head: All Formats
120 meetings — South Africa lead, but Pakistan own the T20Is.
| Format | Matches | Pakistan | South Africa | Draw/NR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 28 | 6 | 16 | 6 |
| ODIs | ~87 | 34 | 52 | 1 |
| T20Is | ~22 | 12 | 10 | 0 |
| Total | ~120 | 46 | 68 | — |
South Africa’s Test dominance (16–6) drives the overall lead; Pakistan’s T20I edge (12–10) and the December 2024 ODI whitewash show the modern balance shifting. Full H2H history →
The Long Format
Test Match History
From Johannesburg 1995 to Rawalpindi 2025 — three decades of Test battles.
South Africa won the first Test meeting (1995, by 324 runs); Pakistan’s first Test win came in 1998. The rivalry’s Test peaks: Pakistan’s 1997 home series win, the spin-friendly Lahore 2025 victory (Noman Ali’s 10-wicket match), and South Africa’s ruthless 2025 Rawalpindi reply — 8 wickets inside four days. The defending WTC champions remain Pakistan’s toughest Test examination. Test series guide →
Classics
Memorable Matches
The games fans still talk about.
Chennai 2023: 1-Wicket Heartbreak
World Cup thriller — South Africa chased 271 with one wicket left, Maharaj and Shamsi holding their nerve. Pakistan’s best World Cup performance in defeat.
Lord’s 2019: 49-Run Win
Pakistan’s World Cup triumph over the Proteas — Haris Rauf’s pace and Babar’s class eliminating South Africa from semi-final contention.
South Africa 2024: 3–0 Whitewash
Pakistan became the first team to whitewash South Africa in an ODI series on South African soil — the December 2024 statement tour.
Lahore 2025: 93-Run Spin Win
Noman Ali’s 10-wicket match and Asif Afridi’s 6–79 on debut at 38 — Pakistan’s spin stranglehold over the WTC champions.
The Stars
Players to Watch
The men who decide Pak vs SA.
Saim Ayub
Top run-scorer in both white-ball legs of the 2025-26 tour — Pakistan’s opener for the next decade.
Noman Ali
14 Test wickets in the 2025 series — the left-arm spinner South Africa couldn’t read.
Quinton de Kock
Comeback 123* in the ODIs — still the most destructive keeper-batter in the fixture.
Kagiso Rabada
The pace spearhead — Pakistan’s eternal problem with the new ball.
Shaheen Afridi
25 wickets in 13 ODIs vs SA (best 4/47) — Pakistan’s big-game bowler, and ODI captain.
Simon Harmer
13 wickets at 21 in the 2025 Tests — the off-spinner who levelled the series.
Women’s Cricket
Pakistan Women vs South Africa Women
The women’s rivalry is fiercely competitive too.
Recent meetings show how close it is: Pakistan Women won by 53 runs in Kimberley (Feb 2026, defending 144/7), while South Africa Women won by 5 wickets in Potchefstroom chasing 181, and by 2 wickets at the Women’s T20 World Cup in June 2026 (Edgbaston). Pakistan’s women keep pushing one of the world’s top sides — every game is a contest.
Dec 2024 – Jan 2025
Pakistan’s Tour of South Africa 2024-25
The whitewash tour — Pakistan’s greatest away achievement against the Proteas.
Pakistan became the first team ever to whitewash South Africa 3–0 in an ODI series on South African soil (December 2024): 3-wicket, 81-run and 37-run wins, with Saim Ayub’s hundreds and the pace attack’s discipline. The Tests went South Africa’s way (2–0, including a 10-wicket win at Cape Town), and the T20Is were shared — but the ODI whitewash remains the landmark. It announced this Pakistan team’s white-ball arrival and set up the home triumph a year later.
Tactics
How Pakistan Beat South Africa
The formula from the 2025-26 triumphs.
Spin at Home
Noman Ali (14 wickets) and Abrar Ahmed strangled SA on turning tracks — Lahore’s 93-run win was the template. Pakistan’s spinners out-bowled South Africa’s in home conditions.
Saim’s Batting
Saim Ayub topped the runs in both white-ball series (169 in ODIs, 108 in T20Is). When Pakistan’s opener fires, the middle order plays free — and South Africa’s attack loses its threat.
Death Bowling
Shaheen (25 ODI wickets vs SA at his best) and the T20I attack’s discipline — Faheem Ashraf’s 6 wickets earned player-of-the-series — closed out the tight chases (2-wicket and 4-wicket wins).
Answers
Frequently Asked Questions
What fans ask most about Pak vs SA — answered.
Who won the last Pakistan vs South Africa series?
Pakistan — the 2025-26 home tour: Tests drawn 1-1, ODIs won 2-1, T20Is won 2-1. Pakistan’s most successful all-format home series in years.
What time does the Pak vs SA match start?
Pakistan home matches: Tests 10:00 AM PKT, ODIs usually 3:30 PM PKT (day-night), T20Is 6:30 PM PKT. In South Africa, subtract 3 hours for SAST. Today’s match time →
Where can I watch Pak vs SA live in Pakistan?
PTV Sports and Ten Sports on TV; Tamasha, Tapmad and Myco apps for streaming (rights-dependent). Streaming guide →
What is the head-to-head record?
~120 matches: South Africa 68 wins, Pakistan 46. Tests 16–6 SA, ODIs 52–34 SA, T20Is 12–10 Pakistan.
Did Pakistan and South Africa meet at the 2026 T20 World Cup?
No — drawn in different groups, the men’s teams didn’t meet. (South Africa beat Pakistan’s women by 2 wickets at the Women’s T20 World Cup in June 2026.)
What is Pakistan’s best win against South Africa?
The 3–0 ODI whitewash in South Africa (December 2024) — the first ever inflicted on the Proteas at home. In Tests, the 93-run win at Lahore (2025) over the defending WTC champions.
When is the next Pak vs SA series?
No dates announced as of October 2026 — the next meeting will come via ICC FTP scheduling or tournament draws. This page updates when fixtures drop.
Every Ball, Every Series, Every Stat
8 detailed guides — live match info, series reviews, head-to-head records and timings.
Feature Pakistan’s Pakistan Guides cover Pakistan vs South Africa with verified scorecards and honest analysis.