Pakistan veterans Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan laid the foundation for a series-clinching 81-run victory over South Africa in the second One-Day International at Newlands on Thursday. Ta. Pakistan’s total of 329 all outs was set by Babar (73) and captain Rizwan (80), who scored 115 off 142 balls for the third wicket. Heinrich Klaasen scored 97 points for South Africa, but the hosts lost with 248 points. Fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi (4 off 47) and Naseem Shah (3 off 37) were the main destroyers.
The victory gave Pakistan an unassailable 2-0 lead in their third straight match. Pakistan’s victory on Thursday made them the first team in the 21st century to win three bilateral ODI matches in South Africa.
It was their fifth consecutive series win and the third for a Champions Trophy host country in the Southern Hemisphere season, after Australia and Zimbabwe.
“This is a team game. From start to finish, all the players are involved and contribute,” Rizwan said.
Babar and Rizwan, whose one-day cap total of 204 was more than the total of the rest of the team, batted soundly and wisely until Babar was out for a total of 192 in 33 overs.
Rizwan then chased 18-year-old day-one debutant Kwena Mapaka in his third over with a sensational diving catch off his own bowling.
However, the following batters, especially Kamran Ghulam, who was selected as the player of the match, were ready for their powerful batting, hitting 63 out of 32 balls and hitting 6 hits in 5 innings. Ta.
Pakistan, who were given permission to play the shot, scored 161 runs in the last 17 overs despite losing the remaining six wickets.
“Me and Babar started slowly. We were aiming for 300 but we managed to score over 320. I have never seen Kamran Ghulam play such an innings,” Rizwan said.
Mapaka, a left-arm fast bowler, was given a heavy penalty but still managed to concede 72 runs and pick up four wickets.
South Africa scored more briskly than Pakistan in most of their innings, but despite all their first six batsmen starting, only Claasen scored a significant run.
Claassen, who went 4-for-8 and 4-for-6 on 74 pitches for an 86 in the first game at Pearl on Tuesday, had an 86 in the losing game. He was the last man out and was caught at the deep midwicket boundary.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
