Pakistan led by Kamran Ghulam‘s positive intent late on the back of fifties from Rizwan and former skipper Babar Azam, posted a massive score of 329, which proved to be too much for the Proteas in the end even though Heinrich Klaasen did put in a valiant effort. Kamran Ghulam slammed an attractive 63 off just 32 balls as he single-handedly took the game away from South Africa as the total close to 300 was always a difficult chase.
Pakistan thrashed South Africa by 81 runs in the second ODI to clinch the series with one game to go. Fifties from Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Kamran Ghulam helped Pakistan get to a massive 329 on the board. In reply, Shaheen Afridi picked up four wickets, while Naseem Shah had three wickets as the visitors had a thumping 81 runs victory. This was Pakistan’s fifth consecutive ODI series as they are building up nicely towards the Champions Trophy in two months’ time.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : Pacers are expected to enjoy early movement due to the surface’s lively nature. On the other hand, batters find it easier when the ball softens. Newlands is a historic venue and has hosted 47 ODIs so far. The venue has witnessed history on multiple occasions even as the highest total here is 367 by South Africa against Sri Lanka. 259 is the highest chase here and it is only advisable for teams winning the toss to bat first.
Toss : South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and have opted to field with three changes in the playing XI bringing in David Miller , the skipper himself and Bjorn Fortuin for Ryan Rickleton, Tristan Stubbs and Ottniel Baartman. Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan batting first made no changes to the playing XI.
Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam hit fifties as Pakistan rack up 329 in 50 overs
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan’s century stand was aided by a breezy half-century from Kamran Ghulam as Pakistan posted 329 in the second One-Day International against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town, on Thursday.
Put in to bat, Pakistan were pushed on the backfoot early with Marco Jansen inducing an outside edge off Abdullah Shafique in the opening over, which was caught by the ‘keeper as the batter fell for a second-ball duck. Even as Pakistan didn’t go on a conservative mode thereafter, stroking regular boundaries, both Saim Ayub and Babar held back on playing too many shots over the infield in the Powerplay.
Bavuma had opted to field first on a picture-perfect day at Newlands, and South Africa made a similarly dreamy start when Marco Jansen knocked over Abdullah Shafique for a second successive duck. But South Africa only truly perked up when Saim Ayub was removed at the tail end of the powerplay, slashing at a wide one off debutant Kwena Maphaka, and finding van der Dussen well placed at deep third.
Pakistan’s level of urgency tailed away immediately, with Babar and Rizwan opting for the more classical pacing that comes so naturally to them. Both were trying to work their way back into the runs, and with South Africa happy to strangle the scoring than go after the wickets, it appeared for a while that the game entered a passage of play where each side was getting what they wanted.
The duo added 48 runs in 56 balls before Kwena Maphaka, playing his maiden ODI, got a ball to bounce steeply, a delivery which was mistimed by Ayub to the fielder at third.
The Powerplay ended with a wicket-maiden, but Babar and Rizwan ensured that the momentum didn’t flip in favour of the hosts. They remained busy in the middle rotating the strike over regularly. Rizwan took the odd risks every now and then. In the 23rd over, he slog swept Aiden Markram for a six. Two balls later, his attempt to paddle the offspinner almost proved fatal but the opportunity for a catch was put down by the ‘keeper.
Babar also continued the attack against the offie, and in his next over, brought up his half-century. Rizwan then picked pace, and deposited Jansen and Bjorn Fortuin for sixes en route to his half-century mark. Nonetheless, South Africa struck in quick succession to dismiss both the senior batters. Babar pulled Andile Phehlukwayo to the fielder at mid wicket, while Rizwan who smacked Maphaka for three consecutive boundaries in the next over, ended up offering a return catch to the pacer in the 36th over.
There were still moments of belligerence, such as when Rizwan smeared Markram over cow corner for six, and Babar milked the spinners for the occasional boundary. But the asking rate steadily hovered between 4.75 and 5.1, and it was evident Pakistan were backloading the innings
Babar had gone past 50 and seemed to be edging towards that elusive hundred, but then he slapped Phehlukwayo straight to Markram at short midwicket, who just about held on after it thudded into his chest. Maphaka got rid of Rizwan with a splendid diving return catch, and South Africa suddenly had the momentum.
At 192 for 4, with two new batters in the middle, Pakistan had to press the accelerator in the death overs. They found that surge courtesy Kamran Ghulam, who got going by smoking Phehlukwayo for a boundary and a six. Salman Agha too took the attack to Tabraiz Shamsi from the other end, by hitting the spinner for consecutive boundaries, but his stay at the crease was cut short on 33 by Fortuin.
Nonetheless, there was no reprieve for Shamsi as he was deposited for two sixes in his next over by Kamran Ghulam. Jansen, Phehlukwayo and Maphaka all bore the brunt of his attack in the death overs as he cruised away to a 32-ball 63.
But Kamran Ghulam put paid to any such notions. Alongside Salman, who punished some errant bowling, Kamran Ghulam demonstrated his value as a lower-order power hitter, making splendid use of his bottom hand as he smashed five sixes in a whirlwind of a knock. The half-century came up in just 25 deliveries, with both pace and spin taken to task.
Irfan Niazi, Shaheen and Haris Rauf were good value for the odd six from the other end, but until he holed out to Maphaka in the final over, and the late charge which saw Pakistan score 128 in the final 12 overs was largely down to Kamran Ghulam.
That it was possible, though, was because Pakistan had done something which has eluded South Africa all series. They had paced their way through an ODI innings while keeping wickets in hand. Klaasen may well have been just as adept at playing the Kamran Ghulam role at the death, but, as he went down on his knees after Pakistan sealed victory, he simply had no one to play it with.
David Miller effected a stunning run-out to send back Irfan Khan, but South Africa dropped way too many catches for their own good. After Klaasen put down Rizwan early in his innings, Irfan and Kamran Ghulam got a reprieve each by Temba Bavuma and Maphaka respectively in the end overs. Shaheen Afridi also joined the late carnage with an enterprising cameo, but South Africa picked up four wickets in the last six balls of the innings to bundle out the visitors.
Shaheen Afridi’s 4-fer trumps Heinrich Klaasen 97 runs to guide Pakistan to series win over South Africa
South Africa made a steady start in the run chase, with Temba Bavuma whipping Shaheen Afridi for a boundary off the first ball. Four overs later Tony de Zorzi whipped an incoming delivery by the pacer over the fence. But the 34-run alliance between the openers came to an end at the end of the sixth over, with Bavuma getting caught by Haris Rauf in the deep.
Zorzi hit three crisp boundaries off Shaheen and Naseem, but was cleaned up by Abrar Ahmad six overs later. The Pakistani spinners, yet again, troubled the hosts. Agha and Abrar choked the run-scoring through the middle overs and built up the pressure. It first led to the dismissal of Rassie van der Dussen, whose attempted big hit off Agha was pouched at deep mid wicket.
South Africa began the chase in much the same way as they started off in the first innings in Paarl – with conviction and purpose. From the moment the returning Temba Bavuma flicked Afridi off his pads for four off the first ball, South Africa were up and running, routinely piercing the thickset infield to find the boundaries they needed to keep the asking rate in check.
However, the hosts were beset by the clumps of wickets Pakistan have found a knack of taking to stymie opposition momentum. De Zorzi, van der Dussen and Aiden Markram all fell within 39 runs of each other, immediately placing all the pressure on Klaasen to pull off another Houdini act. Alongside David Miller, he appeared to have set South Africa back on course with a partnership that combined security with aggression, the run-a-ball 72 they added bringing the hosts right back into the contest.
When Naseem Shah drew a leading edge from the South Africa captain to draw first blood, Tony de Zorzi and Rassie van der Dussen carried on at the same brisk tempo, and South Africa had much the better of the opening powerplay.
However, the hosts were beset by the clumps of wickets Pakistan have found a knack of taking to stymie opposition momentum. De Zorzi, van der Dussen and Aiden Markram all fell within 39 runs of each other, immediately placing all the pressure on Klaasen to pull off another Houdini act. Alongside David Miller, he appeared to have set South Africa back on course with a partnership that combined security with aggression, the run-a-ball 72 they added bringing the hosts right back into the contest.
Klaasen smashed a couple of boundaries off Agha, but South Africa struggled to gain the momentum. Naseem put down a catch two overs later, and then Markram was trapped leg before by Abrar. Klaasen and David Miller steadied the innings briefly, with frequent rotation of strike and some odd attempts to hit big. Just as they pushed the scoring rate higher with three boundaries in a space of six balls, Shaheen returned to the attack and had Miller caught behind on 29.
With a long tail to offer company, Klaasen went on the offensive and smoked two sixes in the next over. Rightly so. There wasn’t much support coming his way from the other end as Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo and Kagiso Rabada departed cheaply to the pace pair of Shaheen and Naseem. Klaasen waged a lone battle, but the victory had gone way out of sight by then.
But Afridi picked his moment to deliver perhaps his most impressive spell since picking up the injury two years ago that has somewhat stalled his career. With the lights taking full effect and the contest balanced on a tightrope, he found it in himself to bowl closer to the 140kph mark, angling his wrist position to take advantage of the reverse swing that suddenly appeared to be on offer. He fizzed one past Miller, cutting him in half – or so we all thought; Afridi was sure it had kissed the inside edge, and when they went upstairs, the technology bore him out.
But it was the dismissal of Marco Jansen that had the greatest technical purity to it. Coming around the wicket, it angled into middle stump before appearing to deviate away, with Jansen’s bat nowhere near it as it crashed into the base of middle and off. He was finding late swing at such pace even the umpire struggled to pick it up, and it required another review to establish Andile Phehlukwayo had been struck on the toe before the ball hit his bat, and that he was indeed plumb in front.
Shaheen Afridi returned four wickets as South Africa folded up for 248 in the second One-Day International at Newlands in Cape Town to hand Pakistan a comfortable series-winning 81-run victory, on Thursday. Heinrich Klaasen’s 97 went in vain as South Africa were outplayed to hand Pakistan an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Mohammad Rizwan the winning skipper said : All of the guys were involved and everyone performed. We got the partnership but the start was good. Myself and Babar decided to go slow and lay the foundation. We were looking at 300 but we made 320 thanks to Kamran Ghulam. As a skipper I have the trust and belief in him but not that much as he played today (laughs). The bowlers then bowled well to restrict them.
Temba Bavuma the loosing skipper said : We had things under control in the first 25 overs, but we let them express themselves in the last 25, conceding over 200 runs. We let the good work in the first 25 slip away. The wicket stayed good.
We didn’t have much for the bowlers, just a little bit of grip for the slower bowlers but I would stick with my decision (at the toss). We haven’t scored the number of hundreds we are accustomed to and that is something we have to work on. Those starts need to be converted it into big scores for the team.
Kamran Ghulam Player of the match for his blistering 63 runs said : I am very happy that I performed well and we won the series. The last couple of years the team has performed well and I am happy.
Pakistan turned in their best all-round ODI performance across all three series over the past six weeks, dismantling South Africa by 81 runs and sealing a third straight ODI series win.
Shaheen Afridi sizzled with the ball after half-centuries from Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam and Kamran Ghulam helped Pakistan amass 329 in the second ODI in Cape Town. South Africa never quite got partnerships going despite a heroic 74-ball 97 from Heinrich Klaasen. Afridi, however, got his mojo back, menacing at the top and lethal with the reverse swinging ball at the death, finishing with four wickets as South Africa were bowled out for 248.
Pakistan seal the series with a game in hand. The batters put up a massive total on the board and the bowlers were even better. South Africa will look at that scorecard and see their top five batters getting into double digits but only Klaasen made a significant contribution, four of them even went past 20 but did not support the keeper-batter.
Pakistan kept picking wickets at regular intervals but it was Shaheen’s second spell that really turned the game in their favour. He came back and broke the Miller-Klaasen partnership, picked up couple more in that spell and added another in the third spell. His first spell – 4-0-29-0, his final bowling figures – 8-0-47-4. The rest of the bowlers supported him well and kept things under control for most parts.
Pakistan are gathering momentum as they head towards the Champions Trophy. After series wins in Australia and Zimbabwe, they have beaten South Africa as well and that too with a game to spare. South Africa might be without some of their key fast bowlers for this series but the batting line-up is more or less the same and they have been disappointing. They have one more game to rectify their mistakes and get something out of this series. The final ODI is on Sunday.