The cricketing rivalry between Pakistan and South Africa has transformed into one of the more heated yet respectful encounters that exist in modern day international cricket. This rivalry lacks the depth of history that some of the more historic rivalries have, however, there have been clashes across three formats: Test cricket, One Day Internationals (ODIs), and T20 Internationals (T20Is) with iconic performances and dramatic endings. South Africa’s return to international cricket in the early 1990s post-apartheid coincided with the rise of a dangerous Pakistan team resulting in some memorable contests over the years. Let’s go through the Pakistan national cricket team vs South Africa national cricket team timeline to get a detailed insight into this rivalry.
Test Cricket Timeline: Grit, Dominance, and Guts
- Total Tests Played: 30
- Pakistan Wins: 6
- South Africa Wins: 17
- Draws: 7
The first Test match between Pakistan and South Africa was in January 1995 in the iconic Wanderers Stadium which seeded what would be a one-sided rivalry for the first few decades of encounters.
1995-2000: Early South African Dominance
There was undeniable superiority in the early years, as evidenced by the 1994-95 series. South Africa spearheaded by Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock thrashed Pakistan by 324 runs in the very first Test at Johannesburg.
By the time the two teams met for the 1997-98 series, they had played in Pakistan, where two hard-fought draws were followed by a narrow victory for South Africa at Faisalabad. When they faced each other in 1998, Pakistan replied in style with a memorable 29-run victory in Durban, thanks to the hard work of Shoaib Akhtar and Mushtaq Ahmed. South Africa then answered back in a big way with a 259-run victory at Port Elizabeth.
2002–2007: Competitive but Ruthless
As Pakistan tried to find some consistency in the early 2000s, South Africa put Pakistan through it during the 2002-03 away series, including an innings and 142-run victory at Newlands. It was a little gentler in the 2003-04 home series for Pakistan, including a comfortable 8-wicket victory in Lahore.
When they met for the series in 2006-07, there was a competitive edge to every match, including Pakistan’s only Test victory in Port Elizabeth helped by a five-wicket haul by Mohammad Asif; however, South Africa still took the series 2–1.
2010–2013: Neutral Venues & Still too Strong
Due to security issues in Pakistan, the series in 2010 was held in the UAE, under the unique conditions of a neutral venue. Although both matches (two Tests) were drawn, Younis Khan scored a double century and Jacques Kallis played a few match-winning innings in the two games, which is significant after so many sterile matches before.
South Africa then hosted Pakistan for the series in 2013, bringing greater expectancy than ten years earlier. The South African bowling unit utterly dominated Pakistan simply on the batting of Younis Khan, who played three very good but ultimately useless innings in the three Tests.
But Pakistan responded by winning by 7 wickets in Abu Dhabi later that year – Pakistan’s only Test win against South Africa between 2003 and 2020.
2018 – 2025: Signs of a Revival
Pakistan’s tour to South Africa in 2018-19 was disastrous, losing 3 – 0. However, Pakistan eventually struck gold in 2021 when they were able to exploit home conditions, winning both Tests in Karachi and Rawalpindi against South Africa to secure a very rare series win against the Proteas.
Their most recent series in 2024 – 25 saw South Africa re-establish themselves with victories at Centurion and Newlands, showing they remain the dominant team over Pakistan in the longer format.
One Day Internationals (ODIs): A More Even Contest
- Total ODIs Played: 87
- Pakistan Wins: 34
- South Africa Wins: 52
- No Result: 1
ODIs between Pakistan and South Africa have a lot more parity and often more excitement. The first match between the two teams came when they played against each other in the 1992 World Cup in Brisbane, with South Africa winning by 6 runs after rain affected the match.
1992 – 1998: The Golden Era of Pakistan
After South Africa’s first victory, Pakistan bounced back in great style from then and through the early ’90s. The 1993 Total International Series was a clean sweep for Pakistan. There was also the 1994 Wills Triangular series at home, where Pakistan again dominated and won two key matches in the Mandela Trophy.
Nonetheless, South Africa’s impressive squad quickly began to highlight its strength, winning bilateral series and triangular series in Sharjah and India and winning the Pepsi Cup in 1996 by 143 runs.
1999–2007: South Africa’s Remarkable Consistency
South Africa’s ODI record against Pakistan was consistent from the late 90’s into the early 2000’s. Their quick fielders, deep batting order and multiple fast bowlers allowed them to win significant matches in Sharjah, Sri Lanka, and home series.
Pakistan earned victories intermittently, highlighted by the 2000 Coca-Cola Cup and the 2003 series at home against South Africa. Overall, most of the series favoured South Africa in ODI matches.
One of the biggest hammerings came in 2007 in an ODI match at SuperSport Park where Pakistan were defeated by 164 runs. But they, in turn, produced a 141 run victory in the very next ODI at Durban, which is regarded as turning the tables.
2010–2013: Hard-Hitting and Nail-Biting
The series hosted by the UAE in 2010 including 2x one-wicket wins for Pakistan and lots of very nail biting matches. South Africa managed to lead the series by narrow margins.
The 2013 series was closely contested with Pakistan earning victories in Sharjah and Port Elizabeth but South Africa countered these wins with wins in Cape Town and other venues.
2015 – 2023 – World Cup Drama and a Trend Change
There was a big turning point for Pakistan in the 2015 World Cup which Pakistan won against South Africa by 29 runs in Auckland. In the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, Pakistan took a further step while defeating South Africa yet again by 19 runs in a rain-affected match. In the 2018-19 series in South Africa, both teams played brilliantly and ended with one win each Pakistan at Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg. In cricket terms, the standard is always raised at ICC World Cups where again Pakistan triumphed against South Africa at Lord’s by 49 runs in the 2019 edition.
In 2021 too, Pakistan won an away series 2-1 which speaks to the level of maturity being displayed by the Pakistan teams selected for the format.
2024 – 2025 – Pakistan Takes Charge
In December 2024 series in South Africa, Pakistan owned the series with convincing wins at Boland Park, Newlands and Wanderers besides winning the tri-nation series in February 2025 in Karachi with a 6-wicket win.
T20 International Matches: Standoff in a Fast Moving Sector
- Total T20I Matches played: 24
- Pakistan wins: 12
- South Africa Wins: 12
- Tied/No Result – 0
In comparison to the Test and ODI matches which were mentioned earlier, the T20 matchups have been evenly contested between Pakistan and South Africa. The maiden T20I match was played in 2007 at the Wanderers and South Africa won by 10 wickets.
2007–2013: Tug of War
The early years involved a back-and-forth matchup with both national teams winning matches. Pakistan picked up their first win in T20 in 2009 in a nail-biter 7-run game at Trent Bridge, again beat South Africa in 2010 in the West indies by 11 runs.
However, South Africa had the edge in all the matches in the UAE leg in 2010 and 2013, winning most of those matches, including a 9-wicket drubbing in Dubai in 2013.
2019–2021: Pakistan Strides Ahead
Pakistan performed reasonably well in their tour in 2019 with one win at Centurion, while South Africa exerted themselves by winning closely contested games in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Then came the 2021 home and away series, which was favorable for Pakistan. They were victorious in two of the three matches in Lahore and won the last two games back-to-back in SA in the last two games of four-match series to win the series 3–1.
2022–2024: Drama Comes Back
Pakistan managed to get one over South Africa in their T20 World Cup win with a 33-run win at Sydney in 2022 but in 2024 on the tour to SA, the home team asserted their dominance through wins at Kingsmead and SuperSport Park enabling them to level the head to head to 12-12.
Summary of Head-to-Head Across Formats
| Format | Matches | Pakistan Wins | South Africa Wins | Draw/Tie/No Result |
| Tests | 30 | 6 | 17 | 7 (Drawn) |
| ODIs | 87 | 34 | 52 | 1 (No Result) |
| T20Is | 24 | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| Total | 141 | 52 | 81 | 8 |
Greatest Moments and Individual Brilliance
For Pakistan:
- Shoaib Akhtar (1998 Durban Test): Pure pace, which was simply unplayable, and rocked the South African batting unit.
- Younis Khan & Misbah-ul-Haq (2010 UAE Tests): Create draws with measured batting.
- Mohammad Hafeez & Shaheen Afridi (2021): The major performances in the limited-overs series to seal victories.
For South Africa:
- Allan Donald & Shaun Pollock (1990s): Consistently blew apart Pakistan’s top-order.
- AB de Villiers & Hashim Amla: Key performers in South Africa’s ODI dominance.
- Dale Steyn & Vernon Philander (2013): Seriously obliterated Pakistan’s batting lineup in the home Tests.
Conclusion: A Rivalry in Progress
The rivalry between Pakistan and South Africa has shifted from relatively one-sided to steadily competitive in the last decade. For example, while South Africa has performed strongly in the Tests historically, Pakistan has steadily made up ground in ODIs and competed toe to toe with the Proteas in T20Is. With both countries producing incredible players to spark the competitions, these incoming matches are set to be thrilling contests. Both countries have talented new faces, for example, thrilling performances by Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam, Aiden Markram, and Kagiso Rabada means this rivalry and its diabolical games are far from over.
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