ICC Champions Trophy 2017: South Africa vs Pakistan, 5 things South Africa did wrong on the night

#2 Chaotic team selection and decision to bat first

de Villiers made a blunder by opting to bat first

The pitch used for this game had already been played on twice and was expected to be slow and sluggish and hence Keshav Maharaj or Andile Phehlukwayo should have replaced an inconsistent Wayne Parnell for this encounter.

Given the nature of the wicket, the slow turn of Maharaj or the cutters from Phehlukwayo would have come in handy for the South Africans. While Pakistan used Imad Wasim, Hafeez, and Shadab Khan as their spinners, South Africa only had Imran Tahir to rely upon. The decision to bat first with rain forecast later in the day also affected the Proteas. With the Duckworth-Lewis rules in place, chasing would have been a far more feasible option.