As the organisers would have wanted, the series hung in the balance a quarter of the way through the deciding match as the advantage swayed both ways. After Dale Steyn and Lonwabo Tsotsobe removed the Pakistan openers on a pitch that displayed inconsistent bounce, Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan led the Pakistan recovery. But their 66-run stand was broken with Pakistan close to the half-way stage of their innings to restore an edgy equilibrium to the contest.
Steyn found early swing and delivered one of his classical deliveries to remove Mohammad Hafeez for the sixth time on this tour. He squared the opener up with a delivery that angled into him and then straightened. Hafeez had to play at it and got an edge that flew to second slip's right where Colin Ingram reacted well to take the catch that gave Steyn his 100th ODI wicket.
Tsotsobe continued to apply the pressure from his end with length deliveries on and around off stump. He kept at it while Morne Morkel was introduced at the end; it marked his return after more than a month out of action. Morkel extracted awkward extra bounce from the surface and may have played a part in rattling Imran Farhat, who eventually pushed at a standard Tsotsobe delivery and got a faint edge through to AB de Villiers.
Pakistan were battling uphill at 31 for 2 after 10 overs with Younis under some pressure, having not posted anything greater than 32 in this ODI series. He was obviously nervy, especially when he called for his first run which could have seen him run-out.
Kamran has settled in well at No.3 and continued to play with confidence. He targeted the area through point frequently and rotated strike well to build a small partnership. Morkel helped, especially as he struggled with his rhythm and bowled four wides and a no-ball.
Younis settled with a stunning cover drive off Ryan McLaren and then brought up his 7,000th ODI run with a single to square leg. Kamran broke the shackles with a slog-sweep off Robin Peterson and by the time drinks came, Pakistan were in a good position to up the ante.
AB de Villiers brought Steyn back to try and spike the stand and although he fired in aggressive, short-pitched deliveries, the pair was up to the challenge. When that didn't work, Tsotsobe was re-introduced but the breakthrough came from Peterson, who tossed one up to Akmal and with his half-century on his mind, he chose to try the sweep again.
This time, it resulted only in a top-edge that seemed to be swirling over McLaren's head but he backpedalled well to take it over his head. That brought Misbah-ul-Haq, who has already scored two half-centuries, to the crease and he will have to play another captain's knock for Pakistan to challenge for their first bilateral ODI series win over South Africa.
Pakistan 205 all out (Akmal 48, McLaren 3-32) v South Africa
Pakistan can distill the reason for their below-par performance with the bat to one over, the 35th. In the space of four balls, they handed South Africa an obvious advantage when Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi succumbed softly. They abandoned the captain and lower-order to nothing more than hope which sunk like a ship made of nothing but lead.
Pakistan 205 all out (Akmal 48, McLaren 3-32) v South Africa
Pakistan can distill the reason for their below-par performance with the bat to one over, the 35th. In the space of four balls, they handed South Africa an obvious advantage when Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi succumbed softly. They abandoned the captain and lower-order to nothing more than hope which sunk like a ship made of nothing but lead.
In gifting fielders with catches, Malik and Afridi also erased the work done by Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, and Misbah-ul-Haq in the only two partnerships of substance in the innings and left the lower order with too much to do. They pair's shortcoming had nothing to do with the quality of the bowling but the same cannot be said for the rest of the wickets.
Dale Steyn and Lonwabo Tsotsobe opened the innings threateningly and returned to complete testing spells. Ryan McLaren's variations were on display again and despite a shaky start, Morne Morkel made a decent comeback as AB de Villiers manned his bowlers with more surety than before on a pitch that displayed inconsistent bounce.
Steyn delivered a classic delivery to remove Mohammad Hafeez for the sixth time on this tour and plant the seed that may make Misbah question his decision to bat first. Hafeez was squared up by one that angled in to him and then straightened. He had to play at it and got an edge that flew to second slip where Colin Ingram reacted well to take the catch that gave Steyn his 100th ODI wicket.
Tsotsobe applied pressure from his end with length deliveries on and around off stump. He kept at it while Morkel extracted awkward extra bounce to rattle Imran Farhat, who eventually edged a Tsotsobe delivery through to de Villiers.
An under-pressure Younis had Kamran to thank for buying him some time and the pair built the best stand of the innings. Kamran peppered the area through point frequently and Younis settled with a stunning cover drive off McLaren. He also brought up his 7,000th ODI run in this innings and the two put Pakistan in a good position to up the ante.
Then, the dominoes began to fall. Having slog-swept Robin Peterson for six successfully and with his his half-century looming, Kamran tried it again but top-edged the ball. McLaren backpedalled well to take it over his head.
De Villiers brought Farhaan Behardien on and this time his gamble with a part-timer worked. Younis was offered a long-hop that he smashed to midwicket where Hashim Amla timed his jump to end what has been a lean series for Younis.
Shoaib Malik and Misbah produced a similar recovery to what Kamran and Younis had managed, in which they targeted Peterson and tried to be more conservative against the seamers.
They stand grew to 47 when Malik played his inexplicable shot. He chipped a McLaren offcutter to midwicket. Shahid Afridi's was even worse. He saw off two balls before picking the right one to pull, and found the fielder. Ingram was on the deep square leg boundary and received the big scalp with ease.
McLaren got a more deserved wicket when Misbah edged a slower ball to de Villiers to give him his third for two runs. When Morkel pitched one up to have Saeed Ajmal playing on, Pakistan had lost four wickets in 30 balls for 11 runs.
Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan did an admirable job to post 27 runs between them before Wahab was run out. Pakistan were bowled out for 205 in the final over and even though Benoni is a low-scoring ground, their score will be tough to defend.
25 overs South Africa 100 for 3 (De Villiers 44*, Behardien 5*) need another 106 runs to beat Pakistan 205 (Kamran 48, McLaren 3-32)
One of South Africa's most successful ODI pairings combined again to put their team's chase on track. Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers steadied South Africa from 34 for 2 with a 49-run stand but left work for the middle order to close out the series in pursuit of a modest total.
25 overs South Africa 100 for 3 (De Villiers 44*, Behardien 5*) need another 106 runs to beat Pakistan 205 (Kamran 48, McLaren 3-32)
One of South Africa's most successful ODI pairings combined again to put their team's chase on track. Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers steadied South Africa from 34 for 2 with a 49-run stand but left work for the middle order to close out the series in pursuit of a modest total.
South Africa began tentatively against Pakistan's opening bowlers, with Junaid Khan once again troubling Amla. He reviewed an lbw appeal against him in his first over but it had pitched outside leg. The first run off the bat only came in the third over when Amla steered Mohammed Irfan down to third man.
Quinton de Kock, appearing for the first time in the series, had to deal with a barrage of short-pitched deliveries from Irfan. His frustration grew with the lack of run-scoring opportunities and after 25 minutes he tried to force Junaid through the off side without moving his feet. The result was a splayed middle and off stump as he chopped on and failed to bring an improvement to South Africa's opening stand.
Amla and Colin Ingram appeared more assured together. Ingram seemed to have shelved all memories of his first-baller in Durban and drove with authority as soon as he arrived at the crease. Irfan was on the receiving end of two of his shots and he took South Africa to the end of the Powerplay on 33 for 1, almost level terms with Pakistan who were 31 for 2 in their first ten overs.
Misbah-ul-Haq introduced spin immediately after the fielding restrictions ended and was rewarded instantaneously. Ingram was too late in cutting Mohammad Hafeez away and ending up steering the ball into his stumps.
Pakistan could have dealt South Africa a treble-blow when Junaid drew a thick outside edge from de Villiers when he was on one, but Younis Khan at first slip spilled a regulation chance. That was a mistake that Pakistan could not afford to make, especially while defending a small total.
De Villiers and Amla are South Africa's most dangerous pair and they combined again. In the same over that he was dropped, de Villiers cracked Junaid through the covers. He brought out the reverse-sweep against Saeed Ajmal.
As he has done throughout this series, de Villiers led from the front. Amla was at his side but had a tougher time. He could not pick Ajmal well and even struggled against Shahid Afridi. Such a struggle overwhelmed even Amla. His scratchy 22 off 65 balls ended when he skied Irfan while going for the pull. Shoaib Malik took the catch coming in from midwicket.
With de Villiers still at the crease, Pakistan's sighs of relief were not too big because they know they will have to remove him to take the game down to the wire.
South Africa 208 for 4 (De Villiers 95*, Behardien35, Irfan 2-38) beat Pakistan 205 (Akmal 48, McLaren 3-32) by six wickets
| |||
| | |||
AB de Villiers racked up his third half-century in the series, in which he also scored a hundred, to guide South Africa to victory in their chase in Benoni with six overs to spare, sealing a 3-2 win for the hosts. De Villiers put in his best all-round performance in the decider, as he manned his chargers well and anchored the chase, albeit a modest one.
South Africa closed out the series largely due to Pakistan's inability to do the same, rather than being dominant. Apart from de Villiers' knock, the game changed in the space of four balls in the Pakistan innings when Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi both succumbed softly in the 35th over bowled by Ryan McLaren and abandoned the captain and lower order to nothing more than hope.
Malik and Afridi were guilty of poor shot-selection, they undid the work done by the batsmen before and left the lower order too much to do. They also did little justice to Pakistan's initial recovery after they found themselves in early trouble at 31 for 2 inside the first 10 overs.
Dale Steyn delivered a classic delivery to remove Mohammad Hafeez for the sixth time on this tour and take his 100th ODI wicket. Hafeez was forced to play at one that angled into him and then straightened and was caught at second slip. Imran Farhat followed shortly afterwards. After being worked over by Morne Morkel's awkward bounce, he edged a standard Lonwabo Tsotsobe delivery through to de Villiers.
An under-pressure Younis Khan had Kamran Akmal to thank for buying him some time and the pair built the best stand of the innings. Kamran peppered the area through point frequently to keep the score moving. Younis eventually settled and also brought up his 7000 ODI runs. The pair put Pakistan in a good position, but could not build on it.
Having slog-swept Robin Peterson for six successfully and with his half-century looming, Kamran tried it again but top-edged to hand a catch to McLaren. Two overs later, Younis mowed part-timer Farhaan Behardien to midwicket where Hashim Amla timed his jump to end what has been a lean series for Younis.
Shoaib Malik and Misbah combined to a produce a similar recovery in which they targeted Peterson and tried to be more conservative against the seamers. They stand grew to 47 when Malik did the inexplicable. He chipped a McLaren offcutter to midwicket to give Behardien catching practice. What Afridi did was even worse. He saw off two balls before picking the right one to pull but he singled out the fielder at deep square leg as well. With that, Pakistan's aims of reaching a competitive target ended.
McLaren scooped a third wicket for two runs when Misbah edged a slower ball, and Morkel pitched one up to have Saeed Ajmal playing on. Pakistan lost four wickets in 30 balls for 11 runs and it was left to the tail to get them to just over 200.
If they had any ambitions of defending that, they needed to make early inroads. In the first 11 overs, both Quinton de Kock and Colin Ingram played on to put the match back in the balance. Pakistan could have tipped the scale their way when Junaid Khan drew a thick outside edge from de Villiers, who was on 1, but Younis spilled a regulation chance.
De Villiers did not need a second invitation. He outplayed an uncertain looking Hashim Amla, who struggled against Ajmal and Afridi to underline the difficulties of the surface. Amla's scratchy 22 off 65 balls ended when he skied Mohammed Irfan while going for the pull.
As if to bellow out his intent not to give up, de Villiers hit the Afridi for six over long-on in the next over and there was little to stop him from there. He did not rely on too many big shots but ushered Behardien, and later David Miller, through tricky periods to seize control.
De Villiers' only jaw-dropping stroke was the deft guiding of an Irfan delivery between gully and backward point with an open-faced bat. The rest of innings was about grind, as expected on a pitch with inconsistent bounce. Even though runs were not free-flowing, his half-century came off 53 deliveries, he maintained a strike rate of over 80 and he took his average above 50 in ODIs.
Importantly, de Villiers seemed to settle in his treble role as captain, senior batsman and permanent wicket-keeper and that may be the most valuable thing South Africa take from their series win. They will also take heart from being able to triumph in a must-win situation. Pakistan cannot say the same. Since 2002, they have not won a deciding match in an ODI series and have never beaten South Africa in a bilateral ODI series.
No comments:
Post a Comment