Courtesy of a Saim Ayub century and Agha Salman’s all-round show, Pakistan emerged victorious in the first ODI of the 3-match series against South Africa.
Let us look at three reasons behind Pakistan’s win over South Africa:
1) Agha Salman’s all-round excellence
Following a rather ordinary start with the ball, Pakistan would have sensed trouble at the end of the powerplay with South Africa absolutely cruising. Agha Salman, however, quickly turned things around picking up four wickets in quick succession, eventually ending with figures of 4-32 in 8 overs.
He delivered a brilliant spell of spin bowling, getting rid of all of South Africa’s top four batters. He gave the ball some air and bowled at really slow speeds.
Moreover, he mixed it up well, drifting one away from the batter and then bringing one in. The ball that just went through with the angle and did not turn much caused the most trouble for the Proteas.
At one stage, after the kind start South Africa were off to, it looked like they would be cruising towards the 350-run mark. This spell from the pakistani all-rounder quickly neutralized the quick fire start that South Africa Africa got off to.
It was, indeed, Agha Salman’s day because he played a lovely knock with the bat as well to take Pakistan over the line. While Saim Ayub was out there, he played second fiddle to the left-handed opener. He was constantly communicating with the youngster, and post Saim Ayub’s dismissal, he shouldered the responsibility of guiding Pakistan to victory.
With his unbeaten 82 off 90 balls, he pioneered Pakistan’s triumph over the hosts.
2) Saim Ayub’s innings of responsibility
With all the talk about who would be the next “Fab 4” in the cricketing world, Saim Ayub seems to be quickly cementing his spot amongst the leading contendors. Known for his explosive batting, Saim Ayub exhibited great temperament and played to the situation in the first ODI.
Playing his first ever game in South Africa against the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Tabraiz Shamsi and Ottneil Baartman, Pakistan’s young opener proved why he is hailed as the next big thing in Pakistan cricket.
The visitors were reduced to 60-4, and South Africa were just a couple of wickets away from entering the tail. In a highly sensible and matured knock, Saim Ayub made the bowlers toil hard for his wicket, and was dismissed only after bagging his second ODI ton in just his seventh ODI – both coming in successful run chases. He scored 109 runs off 119 deliveries, and almost won it for Pakistan.
Saim Ayub soaked up all the pressure after the top order collapse, and ensured that he stayed at the crease, even if the runs did not come as quickly as he may have wanted. He played shots all around the ground, displaying his impeccable range as a batter.
Still early days, but there are shades of the great Saeed Anwer in the way Saim Ayub bats, and having already played some promising knocks away from home in Australia and now South Africa, he is on track to achieve great things for his nation.
3) Naseem Shah’s resilience with the bat
Although it may not appear to be as significant, but Naseem Shah’s 9 off 17 was vital in the context of the game. Pakistan being Pakistan, a mini-collapse had started to take place after they went from 201-4 to 209-7, losing three wickets for just eight runs.
When Naseem Shah walked in to bat, the visitors still needed 31 runs to win, with Agha Salman, the last recognized batter, on the other end. Naseem Shah’s job was clear, to stay at the crease and give Agha Salman the strike.
It may sound easy, but with the kind of bounce Marco Jansen was extracting, it was always going to be a massive task for a number 9 batter. But, Naseem Shah has the knack of putting a value to his wicket. He took some blows to the body, but did not play a rash shot.
Eventually, he helped Agha Salman take Pakistan through, thanks to his short, but gritty stay at the crease.