South Africa survived a late charge from Pakistan to pull off a thrilling one-wicket win and move closer to the semi-finals of the World Cup on Friday.
Aiden Markram hit a solid 91 and at 206-4 South Africa were well on course to comfortably chase down a 271-run target.
However, it was left to the last pair of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi to score 11 runs while surviving 11 balls.
Shamsi survived a leg-before appeal that went to umpire's call off fast bowler Haris Rauf with eight needed before Maharaj hit spinner Mohammad Nawaz to the square-leg boundary to pull off the win in 47.2 overs, sparking wild celebrations in his team's dressing room.
Maharaj (seven not out) also added 10 runs for the ninth wicket with Lungi Ngidi (four) but Rauf took a stunning catch off his own bowling to send Ngidi back.
The win took South Africa top of the table with 10 points from five wins in six matches.
Pakistan, however, have lost four in succession after opening the tournament with back-to-back wins.
They have four points and will need results to fall in their favour if they are to sneak into the semi-finals.
This was only the seventh one-wicket by a team in all World Cups and second by South Africa.
Left-arm spinner Shamsi took 4-60 in Pakistan's 270 all out in 46.4 overs with 52 from Saud Shakeel, 50 from skipper Babar Azam and 43 from Shadab Khan.
Markram shone and with a 70-run stand for the fifth wicket with David Miller who scored a 33-ball 29 with two sixes and as many boundaries.
At that moment the Proteas seemed on course for a straightforward win.
But late drama unfolded at Chidambaram Stadium as Pakistan fought back as South Africa slipped to 250-8 from 206-4.
Shaheen Shah Afridi removed Miller in the 34th over while Rauf had Marco Jansen for 20 three overs later.
Markram hit three sixes and seven boundaries off 93 balls, his fourth fifty in the World Cup, also completing 2,000 ODI runs in his 61st match.
Earlier, it was Shamsi and Jansen who derailed Pakistan's innings.
The 33-year-old leg-spinner finished with figures of 4-60 while pace bowler Jansen took 3-43 after Pakistan won the toss and batted, looking for a win to revive their World Cup hopes.
Pakistan would have scored fewer runs had Shakeel and Shadab not lifted them with an 84-run stand for the sixth wicket off 71 balls following Azam's dismissal at 141.
Shadab hit two sixes and three boundaries while Shakeel's second fifty in the tournament had seven hits to the rope.
It was Jansen who hit Pakistan early with the wickets of openers Abdullah Shafique (nine) and Imam-ul-Haq (12) in the first seven overs.
Azam added 48 runs for the third wicket with Mohammad Rizwan who made 31 with a six and four boundaries.
The skipper added another 43 for the next wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed who scored 21 with a six and a boundary.
Shamsi dismissed Iftikhar caught at long-on and Azam behind the wicket sweeping to derail the innings until Shakeel and Shadab rebuilt.
Fast bowler Gerald Cotzee broke the stand by dismissing Shadab in the 40th over while Shamsi sent back Shakeel and Shaheen (two).
Nawaz, Wasim in
Pakistan has won the toss and opted to bat first in a crucial 2023 World Cup match against South Africa.
Speaking on the occasion, captain Babar Azam said "Every match is important for us so we will try our best and put runs on the board."
Babar Azam maintained "We need to improve in all departments, especially fielding and bowling."
Pakistan has made two changes in the team – Muhammad Nawaz has replaced Usama Mir and Muhammad Wasim Junior is included in place of unfit Hasan Ali.
TEAMS
Pakistan 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Shaheen Afridi, 10 Mohammad Wasim, 11 Haris Rauf
South Africa 1 Temba Bavuma (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Tabraiz Shamsi, 10 Gerald Coetzee, 11 Lungi Ngidi
Match number 26
The 2023 Cricket World Cup is in full swing in India, and match number 26 will see Pakistan face off South Africa in the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium. This is going to be the sixth match for both sides.
Men in Green have lost impetus following their defeat to hosts India and they are struggling desperately to rebound with a win. After winning the first two games, they lost three in a row – against India, Australia and Afghanistan. They are ranked sixth in the points standings, with four points in the bank.
Pakistan team is in a precarious situation at the moment after the biggest setback they suffered at the hands of Afghanistan. Now, as it stands, Babar Azam's boys may even fail to qualify for the semi-finals unless they win all their remaining matches – against South Africa, Bangladesh, England and New Zealand.
South Africa’s batters, however, have ruled at three venues in the Cricket World Cup and going by their six-hitting template, they surely aren’t going to change their approach against a struggling Pakistan bowling attack in Chennai.
Babar Azam and Marco Jansen
Devoid of form - by his high standards - criticised for his captaincy, Pakistan's best batter in a generation finds himself at his lowest point. Babar Azam leads a team that looks like it's entering its death spiral. But at the moment, Pakistan are alive, and in around the same sort of territory they found themselves in when he delivered his most celebrated innings yet: that century against New Zealand in 2019. Against an attack that's likely to trouble most of his team-mates, Pakistan's fate is tied almost inevitably to Babar's batting form. If he can deliver a knock of similar value as the one against New Zealand four years ago, few will be interested in looking further up his hands to see if that armband's still on.
When everyone knows - as they do about Imam-ul-Haq - who's got a problem against the short ball, facing 209cm Marco Jansen does not fill you with joy. If all that wasn't enough, Jansen is among the most lethal lower-order hitters at the death, as his mullering of England will bear witness to.
Bavuma, Fakhar set to return
Fakhar Zaman has been passed fit, and if he does play, Imam-ul-Haq is likeliest to make way. Perhaps more importantly, Hasan Ali has been ruled out with fever, likely putting Mohammad Wasim Jnr in contention.
Weather
In Chennai, there is a 46% chance of rain in the morning. However, the match is unlikely to get disrupted as little rain is expected during the match time. The temperature is predicted to be as high as 31 degrees, as per Weather.com. The humidity will go as high as 88%.
Pitch and conditions
The pitch will be the same as the one used for the Bangladesh-New Zealand match a fortnight ago, which means it'll be a bit quicker than the usual Chennai surface. There's a slight chance of a passing shower, though a full game is likely.
Head to head
South Africa hold a considerable edge over Pakistan in their meetings, with 50 wins in 82 ODIs. Pakistan have won on 31 occasions.
24-year jinx
Red-hot South Africa look to break 24-year jinx against teetering Pakistan in today’s match. South Africa's last win in ODI World Cups against Pakistan came in 1999, but they come into this game as strong favourites.
Team news
Given the slow Chennai pitch and Pakistan’s struggles against left-arm spin, South Africa could bring in Tabraiz Shamsi for one of their fast-bowling all-rounders.
Pakistan have problems in all departments and could ring in a few changes for the all-important match. Opener Fakhar Zaman could make his way back into the side if he has fully recovered from a knee injury and spinning all-rounder Salman Ali Agha could replace leg-spinner Usama Mir.