Pakistan Champions climbed to second place in the 2025 World Champions League (WCL) standings after handing South Africa Champions their first defeat of the tournament with a 31-run win in Match 9 at Grace Road, Leicester. After being sent in to bat, Pakistan posted an impressive 198/5, courtesy of Umar Amin’s 58 and Shoaib Malik’s unbeaten 46. Asif Ali and Aamer Yamin gave late fireworks by making the most of big overs in the 14th and 18th.

Defending the total, Pakistan's bowlers kept things tight despite South Africa's fast start. Sohail Tanvir (2/13) and Mohammad Hafeez (2/21) were the stars for Pakistan with the ball, while Rumman Raees contributed with 1/17. Morne van Wyk (44 off 20) and Wayne Parnell (21 off 9) tried to keep the chase going, but regular wickets derailed that innings.

With this crucial win, Pakistan moved to 5 points from 3 matches and improved their Net Run Rate (NRR) to +0.900, pushing them above Australia into second place. South Africa, despite the loss, stayed on top with 6 points but saw their NRR drop to +2.186.

WCL 2025 Points Table (After Match 9):

See Also: WCL 2025, Match 9: Pakistan Champions vs South Africa Champions full match highlights

Top Performers – WCL 2025

Most Runs:

• AB de Villiers (SACH) – 182 runs, Avg 182.00, SR 214.12
• Chadwick Walton (WICH) – 110 runs, Avg 55.00, SR 152.78
• Phil Mustard (ENGCH) – 101 runs, Avg 33.67, SR 117.44
• Eoin Morgan (ENGCH) – 89 runs, Avg 29.67, SR 112.66
• Chris Lynn (AUSCH) – 81 runs, Avg 81.00, SR 300.00

Most Wickets:

• Fidel Edwards (WICH) – 6 wickets, Econ 6.40
• Aaron Phangiso (SACH) – 5 wickets, Econ 5.44
• Stuart Meaker (ENGCH) – 5 wickets, Econ 7.82
• Wayne Parnell (SACH) – 5 wickets, Econ 7.58
• Duanne Olivier (SACH) – 5 wickets, Econ 8.08