Pakistan brought in left-arm spinner Raza Hasan for his first match in the tournament, leaving captain Mohammad Hafeez a choice of four slow bowlers besides himself.
India and Australia, the other two teams in the group, play in the second match of the double-header at the Premadasa stadium later on Friday night.
Teams:
Pakistan:
Mohammad Hafeez (captain), Imran Nazir, Nasir Jamshed, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Raza Hasan, Yasir Arafat
South
Africa:
AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Johan Botha, JP Duminy, Jacques Kallis, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn
Umpires: Rod Tucker (AUS) and Ian Gould (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)