FAISALABAD: Clinical bowling, backed by Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Rizwan’s gutsy half-centuries, guided Pakistan to victory against South Africa in the first One Day International (ODI) here at the Iqbal Stadium on Tuesday.
Set 264, Pakistan hit the winning runs on the loss of eight wickets with two balls to spare.
Pakistan had a similar start to South Africa, with openers laying a solid foundation, adding an 87-run partnership in 15.2 overs. Saim Ayub was the first wicket to fall, trapped in front by Donovan Ferreira.
The left-hander made 39 from 42, striking four boundaries and a six.. Fakhar, who was going well, perished after skying one onto long on. Babar Azam, who opened his account with a beautiful cover drive, could not extend his stay on the crease and was lbw for seven.
As a result, the home side were reduced from 87-0 to 105-3 in 19.5 overs. With two new batters at the crease, the Proteas sensed an opening; however, Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha forged a 91-run partnership that took the game away from them.
Both batters batted with resilience and notched up half-centuries, which put Pakistan in a position of victory. Rizwan top-scored with 55 from 74 balls with the help of six fours, while Salman Ali Agha hit five boundaries and a six on his way to 62 from 71 balls.
However, just when Pakistan seemed to be cruising towards victory, a few quick wickets slumped them from 241-5 to 263-8 in 49.3 overs. Eventually, Mohammad Nawaz’s boundary and Naseem Shah’s calm single sealed the win for the hosts.
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For South Africa, Lungi Ngidi, Donovan Ferreira, and Corbin Bosch picked up two wickets each.
Earlier, Quinton de Kock sparkled with a half-century on his ODI return before Abrar Ahmed and Naseem Shah’s three-wickets folded South Africa on 263 in 49.1 overs.
Quinton de Kock and Lhuan-dre Pretorius provided a solid opening start with a 97-run stand in just 15.6 overs. The pair batted beautifully on a good-looking surface.
Pretorius, particularly, took pacers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi to cleaners with a flurry of boundaries. As a result, the visitors were 62 at the end of the power play.
The stand eventually culminated with Pretorius’ wicket, who perished in the 15th over after making 57 from 60 balls. He struck seven fours and a six in his brisk knock.
Despite the wicket, the Proteas batted at a brisk rate, with De Kock bringing his half-century off 48 balls. He added 43 for the second wicket with Tony de Zorzi as the scorecard read 141 in 24.4 overs.
The Proteas were cruising; however, the home side made a roaring comeback with the quick wickets of De Kock (63 off 71 balls) and Tony De Zordi (18 off 20). Naseem castled the former, whereas the latter was caught and bowled off Saim’s bowling.
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As a result, South Africa were reduced to 147-3 before a 44-run stand between skipper Matthew Breetzke and debutant Sinethemba Qeshile took them near the 200-run mark.
Breetzke scored 47 from 54 with the help of two boundaries, while Qeshile made 22 off 23 balls.
At this stage, the Proteas were eyeing a 300-run plus total; however, Abrar Ahmed sparked a collapse and left them reeling on 228-8 in 43.2 overs.
But it was Corbin Bosch 41 from 40 balls laced with six fours that propelled them to over 250 runs before Naseem bundled out the visitors on the first ball of the last over.
For Pakistan, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed shared six wickets each, whereas Saim Ayub scalped two wickets in his eight overs.
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