It is very evident that the Pakistanis are struggling with their batting and have crumbled on more than one occasion. In fact, in the previous game, the Pakistan looked like they could get to 270 plus at one stage - having got to 140/1 in 35 overs with the batting powerplay still remaining. However, a strange looking, but now familiar collapse after the fall of Mohammad Hafeez's wicket meant that the side had struggled to get to 200.
Really, if anything, the law of averages now needs to catch up with the Pakistanis and they need to get going with the bat. If not, captain Shahid Afridi will need to answer a lot of questions and it will remain to be seen how they overcome it.
Thankfully, the side had shown some intent in the first ODI. However, what could be an issue is that on three successive occasions, the Pakistanis have batted first - if they bat second and chase under pressure, things could get more difficult for the team. Umar Akmal exclusion wasn't totally surprising.
South Africa have been clinical so far. Again, there was no sign of Dale Steyn in the previous game but and yet, Lonwobo Tsotsobe bowled like a champion. His 4/27 was his best spell in international cricket and that pegged the Pakistanis back. Apart from him, the spinner Johan Botha also bowled well enough and the middle-order just did not take enough responsibilities.
However, what stood out was the way that South Africa batted in the innings. The heat was so bad that most players who played for a certain lengths of time were getting cramps and yet the batsmen stuck it out and did not give it away. That is something that the Pakistani side will need to learn from the South Africans given that the heat will probably not go away throughout the series.
Jacques Kallis' 50 and Duminy's continuing form is a good thing for South Africa and they will look to get into the driver's seat by going 2-0 up.