Pakistan have gone from strength to strength and bagged consecutive wins, thus sealing the ODI series against the Proteas.
The visitors have scored two key away ODI series wins in two months: the first in Australia, and now in South Africa. Several players turned up and delivered, as the hosts were subjugated by some fearless batting and incisive bowling.
In spite of a couple of early wickets from Marco Jansen and rookie Kwena Maphaka, Pakistan managed to bounce back and claim the upper hand. Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan brought the innings back on track, and the skipper was the aggressor for much of the partnership.
The 115-run stand between the experienced duo set the platform, as some pretty ordinary fielding and lack of consistency with the ball continued to be a setback for the Proteas. Both players were dismissed within 3 overs, but Kamran Ghulam’s brutal 63 from 32 would wrest the game further from SA.
Pakistan made over 120 runs in the final 12 overs, with most of the bowlers going for extra runs at the back end. Maphaka was the pick of the bowlers on debut, with 4 wickets under his belt. However, it was an imposing total set at halftime.
The chase started off briskly, but captain Temba Bavuma was the first to go when he skied a flick to square leg. The trend continued, as the top 4 all had starts that didn’t get converted. And the introduction of spin brought about 3 of the first 4 wickets.
It was once again down to Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller to bring out something special in order to make the game more intriguing. They added 72 runs between them; Klaasen kept the score ticking along while Miller lay low for much of the partnership.
However, just when Miller was starting to find his rhythm, Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled a snorter of a delivery that snagged his inside edge on the way to the keeper. From then onwards, Klaasen couldn’t find able support at the other end.
Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo, and Bjorn Fortuin all fell cheaply, and it was all but curtains for SA. Klaasen was on the doorstep of a 5th ODI ton, but became the last wicket to fall. A poorly timed pull shot ended his innings at 97, thus confirming an 81-run win for Pakistan.
It was a proper team effort from Pakistan across all skills. Shaheen and Naseem shared 7 wickets between them, while Haris bowled an economical 8-over allotment.
There’s one more game remaining, and that’ll be at the Bullring on Sunday. Stick around.
PAK 329 all out in 49.5 overs (Rizwan 80, Babar 73, Kamran 63 – Maphaka 9.5-1-72-4, Jansen 10-1-71-3)
SA 248 all out (Klaasen 97 – Shaheen 8-0-47-4, Naseem 8.1-0-37-3)
