South Africa vs Pakistan: Who will win PAK vs SA 1st T20I in Rawalpindi? Here's what AI predicts

South Africa are all set to take on Pakistan for the 1st T20I clash at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The match is part of the three-match series and is an important starting step for both teams' preparations for the 2026 T20I World Cup.

​Pakistan are coming off good form, having reached the final of the Asia Cup 2025 last month where they lost to India. The home side is also boosted by the presence of star batter Babar Azam, who will be itching to show his talents in the shortest format of the game after the Asia Cup snub.

​The good thing for Pakistan is that Salman Ali Agha is leading a full-strength squad, which is in stark contrast to the visitors. The Proteas will be led by Donovan Ferreira and are missing the services of key players like Aiden Markram, Gerald Coetzee, Tristan Stubbs, Kwena Maphaka, Kagiso Rabada, and Keshav Maharaj.

​They are coming off a morale-boosting 8-wicket win in the recent Test series decider at the same venue (leveling the series 1-1), so they know how to handle Rawalpindi conditions. However, this is a young, inexperienced T20 side led by Donovan Ferreira.

​However, the Proteas do have experience of winning at the same venue, as they showcased when they won the last Test match here recently to level the Test series 1-1.

​Head-to-head record:

​Pakistan and South Africa have faced each other in 24 T20 Internationals, where the Men in Green have a slight edge with 12 wins while the Proteas have 11 wins, and one contest had no result.

​However, Pakistan has a significant home advantage at Rawalpindi, and the team also has a record of winning over 60% of its matches played in home conditions.

What does AI predict?

Google's Gemini AI leans towards Pakistan owing to the Men in Green's home advantage along with their recent form along with South Africa's recent inconsistency in the format.

“The contest is expected to be close, but Pakistan's home advantage and South Africa missing several key players slightly tilts the prediction in favor of the home side.” Gemini predicts

Anthropic's Claude AI also bats in favour of Pakistan and puts the odds of home team winning at around 65-70 percent owing to home advantage, strong squad strength and the weakened Proteas squad.

“The combination of home advantage, a stronger available squad, and South Africa fielding an inexperienced team missing several key players makes Pakistan clear favorites for this opening T20I.” Claude predicts

Grok 4 also tilts more towards the home side while warning that the Proteas may stand a chance if their young guns put up a show.

“I think Pakistan will win by a narrow margin—maybe 10-20 runs or 4-5 wickets. My guestimate is about 60-65% chance for Pakistan, mainly due to home advantage, Babar's return, and their deeper T20 experience.” Grok predicts.

And finally, ChatGPT (powered by GPT-5) also leans in favour of Pakistan and puts the odds of home side winning at around 60-65% if they chase and 50-55% if the Men in Green bat first.

“Home conditions and crowd, plus plenty of recent T20 cricket at Pindi help the locals.” ChatGPT predicts

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