Yet another all-round exhibition from Pakistan has sealed the deal for a 3-0 series whitewash against South Africa. In a game that ebbed and flowed on an entertaining Pink Day at the Bullring, Pakistan’s target of 308 was a hill too high to climb.
Temba Bavuma opted to bowl first, and the hosts got immediate dividends when they dismissed Abdullah Shafique for his third consecutive duck. However, the in-form Saim Ayub and Babar Azam constructed an excellent 114-run stand, punctuated with plenty of positive strokeplay around the ground.
Kwena Maphaka returned to break the stand, but Saim was on a roll. The left-hander was ably complemented by skipper Mohammed Rizwan, who brought up yet another half-century.
Saim would notch up his third ODI ton, and fell soon after, when he edged behind off debutant seamer Corbin Bosch. Cameos from Salman Agha and Tayyab Tahir would drive the visitors beyond the 300 mark. It was largely a forgettable day out in the field for SA, with wavering tactics with the ball.
The chase was off to a quick start, but Bavuma fell early. Tony de Zorzi briefly entertained, but a beast of a delivery from Shaheen Afridi cut his innings short. Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram tried to consolidate, but the latter hit a long hop off left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem straight to deep midwicket.
The best was yet to come for SA, with Heinrich Klaasen smoking 81 from 43, but van der Dussen was trapped LBW just before Klaasen began to step on the gas. This was very much the story of the South African innings, as the Pakistani bowlers continued to strike whenever the batters tried to force the issue.
Klaasen continued to attack, but a mistimed flick brought his blitz to an end. Marco Jansen hit consecutive sixes off Afridi, but tamely chipped to mid-off in the very next over.
Corbin Bosch did well to stick around and score at a steady clip in his first ODI innings, but wickets in hand were always an issue, in spite of SA keeping up with the run rate. Bjorn Fortuin and Kagiso Rabada hit a few boundaries, but Muqeem had the last laugh with two in two to wrap up the chase.
Pakistan’s Champions Trophy preparations have been going accordingly, with several things clicking into place after what has been a lackluster 2024. The Proteas, on the other hand, have lots of unanswered questions with only two months to go before the tournament is underway.
The Boxing Day Test at Centurion is 4 days away, and they’ll look to put their ODI troubles behind them.Â
One win and the WTC Final is in sight.
PAK 308/9 in 47 overs (Saim 101, Rizwan 53 – Rabada 10-0-56-3)
SA 271 all out in 42 overs (Klaasen 81, Bosch 40* – Muqeem 8-1-52-4)
