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

Pakistan stamped their presence in the tournament with a spectacular bowling performance at Edgbaston, reducing South Africa to 118/6 at one stage. The collapse was started by Imad Wasim and Mohammad Hafeez, who bowled a wicket to wicket line to put the South African batsmen off.

Amla and de Kock fell soon followed by AB de Villiers, who departed for a golden duck, the first one of his ODI career. Hasan Ali then stormed through the Proteas middle-order with three wickets in quick succession. Despite David Miller playing a wonderful innings, the South African score of 219 seemed well below par.

Fakhar Zaman, the debutant who replaced Ahmed Shehzad, got Pakistan off to a flier but Morne Morkel's double-wicket over pegged them back. Mohammad Hafeez and Babar Azam rebuilt for Pakistan before Morkel returned to break through with Hafeez's wicket. With rain threatening, Shoaib Malik stepped up and slashed a couple of powerful shots to take Pakistan 19 runs above the Duckworth-Lewis par score as the heavens opened up at Edgbaston.

Here we take a look at five things that the Proteas did wrong in the clash against Pakistan.

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#5 Getting bogged down by Wasim and Hafeez

South African players aren't the best when it comes to playing quality spin bowling. Although Imad Wasim and Mohammad Hafeez aren't exactly world-class spinners, the duo bowled extremely tight lines and contained the Proteas batsmen.

Amla fell to a straight one from Wasim and de Kock was undone trying to sweep across the line off Hafeez after surviving an lbw shout against the same bowler. de Villiers was coaxed into a wild slash first ball as South Africa fell while trying to negotiate two ordinary spinners. Strike rotation was non-existent and the Proteas batsmen were stuck at one end against the duo, eventually resulting in a cluster of wickets.

#4 Middle order not stepping up after de Villiers' wicket

Duminy once again fell when the team needed a big contribution from him

AB de Villiers is arguably the biggest scalp in the South African side and Pakistan had him back in the hut off his very first ball. The South African middle-order boasts of some very fine players in Faf du Plessis, David Miller, JP Duminy and Chris Morris but apart from Miller none of the others stepped up.

du Plessis, Duminy and Parnell fell to a superb spell from Hasan Ali. While Parnell got a real peach, Faf and Duminy were guilty of poor shot selection. It was appalling to see South Africa fall apart in the absence of de Villiers although Miller took them to a decent total eventually.

#3 Lacklustre opening spell from Rabada and Parnell

Parnell had a poor day with bat and ball

With just 219 on the board, South Africa needed a strong start from their new ball bowlers. However, Wayne Parnell sprayed the ball around and Fakhar Zaman, the debutant, took him on easily. Rabada wasn't too consistent either, offering width on numerous occasions.

The first five overs went for 32 runs, erasing most of the pressure on Pakistan. Parnell, in particular, was erratic and kept bowling short despite finding minimal success. Rabada, on the other hand, bowled better channels but never looked like a wicket-taking threat in his opening spell.

#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.

#1 Keeping back Tahir with rain looming large

Tahir was strangely confined to fielding for the majority of Pakistan's innings

de Villiers had few options with a low total on the board. But with the pitch slow, Imran Tahir was expected to be a vital factor. Morne Morkel picked up three wickets with his skillful bowling but bizarrely de Villiers kept Tahir back after four overs from the leggie.

He resorted to Wayne Parnell, who had gone for plenty in his first two overs and Kagiso Rabada to take wickets. Even as rain threatened to fall, there was no sign of Tahir, South Africa's biggest weapon. The fall of Hafeez's wicket to Morkel should have prompted de Villiers to go back to Tahir but it didn't and eventually, the Duckworth-Lewis par score was easily crossed by Pakistan.