Captain Misbah-ul-Haq has criticised his out-of-form batsmen after Pakistan suffered a defeat to South Africa that put them on the verge of ICC Champions Trophy elimination.

Requiring just 235 to win at Edgbaston, Pakistan's chase was hampered by poor shot selection as they were dismissed 67 runs short of their modest target.

Misbah topscored with 55 in Birmingham to add to his unbeaten 96 against the West Indies at The Oval, but is frustrated that his colleagues cannot match his performances in seemingly familiar conditions.

"The positive was the bowling, really we bowled very well, and the fielding is really improving, but as a batting unit you can say it's totally lost," Misbah said.

"It's the application of the batsmen. They are not applying themselves. It has been a really disappointing two games because the team could not score more than 170 on what looks like an Asian pitch. It is not working. The responsibility is with the players."

Pakistan now need fierce rivals India to beat the West Indies on Tuesday to keep alive their hopes of progressing from Group B.