Pakistan and South Africa have contested 146 matches since their first meeting in 1992. The most recent series in November 2025 saw Pakistan claim their first-ever ODI series victory over South Africa at home with a 2-1 triumph.
In the decisive 3rd ODI at Faisalabad on November 8, Abrar Ahmed’s career-best 4 for 27 helped bowl out South Africa for 143, before Saim Ayub’s unbeaten 77 guided Pakistan to a 7-wicket victory with 149 balls remaining.
Overall Head-to-Head Record Across All Formats
| Format | Matches | PAK Wins | SA Wins | Draws/NR | SA Win % |
| Test Cricket | 28 | 6 | 15 | 7 | 53.6% |
| ODI Cricket | 87 | 33 | 52 | 2 | 59.8% |
| T20 Cricket | 31 | 11 | 19 | 1 | 61.3% |
| All Formats | 146 | 50 | 86 | 10 | 58.9% |
South Africa dominates the overall rivalry with 86 wins compared to Pakistan’s 50 across 146 matches. The Proteas hold advantages in all three formats, particularly in Tests where they lead 15-6.
Latest ODI Series: November 2025 in Pakistan
Pakistan achieved a historic milestone by winning their first ODI series against South Africa on home soil. They had previously lost home series 2-3 in both 2003 and 2007.
3rd ODI: November 8, 2025 at Faisalabad
Match Summary
- Venue: Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
- Toss: South Africa elected to bat
- Result: Pakistan won by 7 wickets
- Player of the Match: Abrar Ahmed
- Player of the Series: Quinton de Kock
South Africa Innings: 143 all out in 37.5 overs
Top Scorers:
- Quinton de Kock: 53 runs off 70 balls (6 fours, 1 six)
- Lhuan-dre Pretorius: 39 runs off 45 balls (4 fours, 1 six)
- Nqabayomzi Peter: 16 runs off 16 balls
- Matthew Breetzke: 9 runs off 18 balls
Best Bowlers:
- Abrar Ahmed: 4 wickets for 27 runs in 10 overs
- Salman Ali Agha: 2 wickets for 18 runs in 5 overs
- Shaheen Shah Afridi: 2 wickets for 18 runs in 4.5 overs
- Mohammad Nawaz: 2 wickets for 31 runs in 8 overs
Pakistan Innings: 144/3 in 25.1 overs
Top Scorers:
- Saim Ayub: 77 runs off 70 balls (11 fours, 1 six)
- Mohammad Rizwan: 32 not out off 31 balls (5 fours)
- Babar Azam: 27 runs off 27 balls (4 fours)
- Salman Ali Agha: 5 not out off 13 balls
Best Bowlers:
- Nandre Burger: 1 wicket for 29 runs in 5 overs
- Bjorn Fortuin: 1 wicket for 34 runs in 7.1 overs
Pakistan chased 144 in just 25.1 overs with 7 wickets remaining. They won with 149 balls to spare.
The Historic Series-Clinching Victory
South Africa started confidently after winning the toss and choosing to bat. Quinton de Kock and Lhuan-dre Pretorius added 72 runs for the first wicket in 16 overs. Both left-handers looked comfortable on a good batting surface at Faisalabad.
De Kock reached his fifty off 61 balls with 6 fours and 1 six. Pretorius played aggressively, scoring 39 off 45 balls. South Africa were cruising at 72 for no loss, looking set for a total around 250.
Then Pakistan’s spinners took control. Salman Ali Agha struck twice in quick succession. He dismissed Pretorius for 39, caught behind trying to cut. Two balls later, Tony de Zorzi edged to slip for 2. South Africa slipped to 87 for 2.
Abrar Ahmed produced a devastating spell. The leg-spinner bowled Matthew Breetzke for 9 with a googly. Next over, he bowled Bjorn Fortuin for 4 with another sharp turner. His variations bamboozled the batsmen.
Mohammad Nawaz trapped Heinrich Klaasen lbw for 11. South Africa collapsed from 72 for 0 to 103 for 5. The innings never recovered from this middle-order collapse.
Quinton de Kock tried fighting alone but Nawaz had him caught at midwicket for 53. Abrar returned to bowl Nqabayomzi Peter and Lungi Ngidi in quick succession, both through the gate.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, captaining Pakistan for the first time in ODIs, wrapped up the tail. He had Nqabayomzi Peter caught behind and Lungi Ngidi bowled. South Africa lost their last 9 wickets for just 71 runs, bowled out for 143 in 37.5 overs.
Abrar finished with career-best figures of 4 for 27 in 10 overs. His three bowled dismissals showed exceptional control and variation. Salman Agha and Shaheen both grabbed 2 wickets each.
Chasing 144, Pakistan lost Fakhar Zaman for a golden duck to the second ball of the innings. Nandre Burger trapped him lbw with an inswinger.
Saim Ayub and Babar Azam steadied the chase. They added 65 runs for the second wicket. Ayub played fluently, driving and cutting with authority. He raced to his fifty off 51 balls with 9 fours.
Babar ran himself out for 27, disappointing the packed 16,000 crowd. He had gone 32 innings without an ODI century, extending his lean patch.
Ayub continued attacking. He hit 11 fours and 1 six in his 70-ball knock. Bjorn Fortuin finally dismissed him for 77 with Pakistan needing just 13 more runs.
Mohammad Rizwan finished unbeaten on 32 off 31 balls. Salman Ali Agha was 5 not out. Pakistan reached 144 for 3 in just 25.1 overs, winning by 7 wickets with nearly 25 overs remaining.
The victory sealed Pakistan’s first ODI series win over South Africa at home. Shaheen Shah Afridi celebrated in his debut series as ODI captain. Abrar won Player of the Match while Quinton de Kock took Player of the Series for scoring 171 runs in 3 matches.
2nd ODI: November 6, 2025 at Faisalabad
Match Summary
- Result: South Africa won by 8 wickets
- Pakistan: 206 all out in 45.3 overs
- South Africa: 207/2 in 42.4 overs
Quinton de Kock scored an unbeaten 100 off 119 balls. Heinrich Klaasen made 57 not out off 59 balls. They shared an unbroken 139-run partnership for the third wicket to guide South Africa to victory.
Pakistan posted 206 with Mohammad Rizwan scoring 69. But de Kock’s century ensured South Africa leveled the series 1-1.
1st ODI: November 4, 2025 at Cape Town
Match Summary
- Result: Pakistan won by 2 wickets
- South Africa: 239/9 in 50 overs (DLS)
- Pakistan: 243/8 in 49.3 overs
Rain interrupted this match multiple times. Pakistan successfully chased a revised DLS target. Mohammad Rizwan scored 82 not out off 107 balls. Salman Ali Agha contributed 46 off 58 balls.
The thrilling 2-wicket victory gave Pakistan a 1-0 series lead.
Latest Test Match: October 2025 in Pakistan
1st Test: October 12-15, 2025 at Karachi
Match Summary
- Venue: National Stadium, Karachi
- Result: Pakistan won by 8 wickets
- Pakistan: 378 and 78/2
- South Africa: 241 and 183
Pakistan dominated the first Test. Imam-ul-Haq scored 93 and Shan Masood made 76 in Pakistan’s first innings of 378. Agha Salman contributed 87 runs.
South Africa managed only 241 in reply. Tony de Zorzi top-scored with 81. Noman Ali took 5 wickets for 81 runs.
In the second innings, South Africa collapsed to 183 all out. Abrar Ahmed grabbed 6 wickets for 50 runs with exceptional leg-spin bowling.
Pakistan chased down 47 runs easily, winning by 8 wickets. This was their first Test victory over South Africa since 2021.
2024 T20I Series in South Africa
South Africa hosted Pakistan for a 3-match T20I series in December 2024.
1st T20I: December 10, 2024 at Durban
Match Summary
- Venue: Kingsmead, Durban
- Result: South Africa won by 11 runs
- South Africa: 183/9 in 20 overs
- Pakistan: 172/8 in 20 overs
David Miller smashed 82 off 40 balls with 5 fours and 8 sixes. George Linde took 4 wickets for 21 runs and scored 48 runs. Mohammad Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan with 74 not out but couldn’t prevent defeat.
2021 Test Series in Pakistan
Pakistan hosted South Africa for a 2-Test series in January-February 2021.
2nd Test: February 4-8, 2021 at Rawalpindi
Match Summary
- Result: South Africa won by 95 runs
- South Africa: 201 and 298
- Pakistan: 272 and 132
South Africa won to level the series 1-1. Quinton de Kock scored 129 in the second innings. Pakistan collapsed to 132 all out in the fourth innings chase.
1st Test: January 26-29, 2021 at Karachi
Match Summary
- Result: Pakistan won by 7 wickets
- South Africa: 220 and 245
- Pakistan: 378 and 88/3
Pakistan won comfortably. Fawad Alam scored 109 and Azhar Ali made 51. Nauman Ali took 5 wickets for 35 runs in the second innings.
2019 ODI World Cup: June 23, 2019 at Lord’s
Match Summary
- Venue: Lord’s, London
- Result: Pakistan won by 49 runs
- Pakistan: 308/7 in 50 overs
- South Africa: 259/9 in 50 overs
Babar Azam scored 69 and Haris Sohail made 89. Shaheen Afridi took 3 wickets for 32 runs. Pakistan won by 49 runs in a crucial World Cup group match.
2013 ODI Series in South Africa
South Africa won 3-2 in a thrilling 5-match series.
5th ODI: November 30, 2013 at Benoni
Match Summary
- Result: Pakistan won by 32 runs
- Pakistan: 253/6 in 50 overs
- South Africa: 221 all out in 46.4 overs
Misbah-ul-Haq scored 88 not out. Saeed Ajmal took 5 wickets for 36 runs. Pakistan won the final ODI but lost the series 2-3.
Key Records and Statistics
Highest Individual Test Score
- AB de Villiers: 278 not out for South Africa in 2013 at Centurion
Best Test Bowling
- Yasir Shah: 8/41 for Pakistan in 2013 at Abu Dhabi
Highest ODI Score
- Quinton de Kock: 178 for South Africa in 2017 at Centurion
Best ODI Bowling
- Shahid Afridi: 5/23 for Pakistan in 2013 at Johannesburg
Most Test Runs
- Younis Khan (Pakistan): 726 runs at 48.40 average
- Jacques Kallis (South Africa): 662 runs at 55.16 average
Most Test Wickets
- Dale Steyn (South Africa): 56 wickets at 23.80 average
- Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan): 29 wickets at 16.86 average
Most ODI Runs
- Quinton de Kock (South Africa): 1,147 runs at 45.88 average
- Babar Azam (Pakistan): 1,063 runs at 59.05 average
Most ODI Wickets
- Shahid Afridi (Pakistan): 32 wickets at 22.81 average
- Kagiso Rabada (South Africa): 27 wickets at 26.74 average
FAQs
Who has won more matches between Pakistan and South Africa?
South Africa leads 86-50 overall across all formats. In Tests, South Africa dominates 15-6. In ODIs, South Africa leads 52-33. In T20Is, South Africa leads 19-11. However, Pakistan’s November 2025 ODI series win was their first at home against the Proteas.
What is AB de Villiers’ highest Test score against Pakistan?
AB de Villiers scored 278 not out for South Africa against Pakistan at Centurion in February 2013. This remains the highest individual Test score in this rivalry. He batted for 638 minutes, hitting 36 fours and 1 six.
When did Pakistan last beat South Africa in a Test series?
Pakistan last won a Test series against South Africa in January-February 2021 at home. They drew the 2-match series 1-1 after winning the first Test by 7 wickets at Karachi. Before that, Pakistan won 2-0 in UAE during 2013.
Who took 8 wickets in an innings in this rivalry?
Yasir Shah took 8 wickets for 41 runs for Pakistan against South Africa at Abu Dhabi in October 2013. His leg-spin bowling destroyed South Africa’s batting on a turning pitch. This remains the best bowling figures in this rivalry.
What was special about Pakistan’s 2025 ODI series win?
Pakistan’s 2-1 ODI series victory in November 2025 was their first-ever ODI series win over South Africa at home. They had lost home series 2-3 in both 2003 and 2007. Abrar Ahmed’s 4 for 27 in the decisive match was the turning point.
Wrapping Up
South Africa leads Pakistan 86-50 overall but recent contests show competitive balance. Pakistan’s historic 2025 home ODI series win under new captain Shaheen Afridi marks a turning point.
Abrar Ahmed’s leg-spin and Saim Ayub’s batting promise exciting future battles between these nations.
