A seemingly below-par score was defended for the second time in the series as Pakistan out-spun and out-thought South Africa to level the rubber. Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez shared six wickets among them on a surface which facilitated more turn than expected and against a line-up whose technical weaknesses against the art were exposed yet again. Mohammad Irfan, also, continued to impress with his three.
In a battle of the two attacks, South Africa's would have been satisfied with their work when they limited Pakistan to a total below the first innings average of 228. Their seamers did the job mainly through Morne Morkel, who generated extra bounce and used the short ball well, and Ryan McLaren, whose changes of pace worked. Those two took seven wickets together and conceded 72 runs in the 20 overs they bowled. Their efforts went in vain as the batsmen collapsed, with no-one managing a score over 30.
Colin Ingram's miserable run continued. If not for overthrows, his streak of three ducks from three internationals would have extended to four. He was bowled by a Sohail Tanvir inswinger and will certainly be replaced in the line-up by Hashim Amla, who will be back from the next game.
Colin Ingram's miserable run continued. If not for overthrows, his streak of three ducks from three internationals would have extended to four. He was bowled by a Sohail Tanvir inswinger and will certainly be replaced in the line-up by Hashim Amla, who will be back from the next game.
Graeme Smith and JP Duminy spent 74 balls grafting for 36 runs to put South Africa on track. Duminy was the more comfortable, cutting and driving with relative ease while Smith struggled.
Pakistan reviewed an lbw appeal against the former captain when he was on 10 but the umpire's call stood. He persisted with moving across his stumps to defend, though, and was bowled when he missed the sweep. Five balls later, Duminy was caught at slip off Irfan to expose South Africa's soft middle-order.
Ajmal generated sharp turn and with his sublime control, it seemed a wicket would fall off every ball. Faf du Plessis edged one which fell short off slip, AB de Villiers had an lbw appeal turned down - which replays showed should have been given out - and almost offered Ajmal a return catch.
For five and half overs, with Ajmal and Irfan in operation, Pakistan gave away only 17 runs. South Africa were strangled and by the time Afridi was brought on, at the start of the 23rd over, their frustration had reached breaking point.
Du Plessis got on the back foot to defend a flipper but was trapped on the pad with Afridi's first ball. By the time he wanted to review, it was too late although it would have been wasted because Hawk-Eye revealed he was as out. In Afridi's next over, de Villiers tried to cut and was caught behind. At 73 for 5, it was only a matter of time before South Africa unraveled.
Wayne Parnell and Ryan McLaren put on 35, South Africa's second-highest partnership, but when Irfan, whose ability to pitch it up continues to earn him praise, had Parnell caught behind, South Africa were waiting to be finished off. Ajmal became the joint highest ODI wicket-taker of the year when Lonwabo Tsotsobe was given out lbw and Afridi took the final wicket to complete a second consecutive three-wicket haul.
In the end it seemed it was Pakistan, rather than South Africa, who could lay claim to de Villiers assertion that only four wickets were needed to dent their opposition. De Villiers' bold statement was justified, though, when Pakistan were batting, because their last six put on just 92 runs in 21 overs.
After Ahmed Shehzad, who scored his third consecutive ODI fifty, was dismissed, Pakistan struggled against the discipline of the South Africa attack. The bowlers set the tone in the first two overs, which ended with Nasir Jamshed, for the second time in the series, top edging an attempted pull.
Lonwabo Tsotsobe completed a well-judged catch at fine leg to enhance his opening passage of play in which he also troubled Hafeez. On seeing the left-armer cause problems, de Villiers introduced Wayne Parnell at the other end but the hero from the first match could not find his length and offered Pakistan relief.
Shehzad and Hafeez took 32 runs off the last four overs of the Powerplay to set Pakistan up. No sooner had they done that when Hafeez stepped out against Ryan McLaren and inside-edged a back of a length ball onto his own stumps.
His departure forced Shehzad to go back into his shell but he slowly emerged from it with Misbah-ul-Haq at his side. Misbah showed more impatience than usual, even after Shehzad has raised his bat to the only half-century of the match, and would have trusted his younger partner to bat for a while longer.
Shehzad, though, went soon after Misbah, offering the simplest of return catches to Imran Tahir to spark Pakistan's slump. After he was dismissed, the two Umar's - Amin and Akmal - were together for 51 balls in which they only managed 31 runs. South Africa's bowlers gave away very little so that when McLaren brought his change of pace to the fore, they were victims of it.
Misbah predicted turn would be a factor later in the match and he was proved correct. The teams have four days between fixtures to regroup, and South Africa will want to take advantage of Gary Kirsten's presence as their batting consultant before the third game.
Pakistan 209 (Shehzad 58*, McLaren 4-34, Morkel 3-38) v South Africa
South Africa believed they only needed four Pakistan wickets to hold an advantage over their opposition, and they justified that belief on the field in the second ODI. Ahmed Shehzad, who scored his third consecutive ODI fifty, was the fourth batsman to be dismissed. After he departed, Pakistan managed 92 runs in 21 overs to post a total 19 runs adrift of the average first-innings score in Dubai of 228.
Shehzad steadied the innings after the early loss of Nasir Jamshed, built partnerships with Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq but could not go on to anchor the latter half of the innings - a failure that cost Pakistan.
AB de Villiers used his bowlers cleverly. He gave Morne Morkel short bursts, chose opportune moments for Ryan McLaren to bowl his mixture of cutters and yorkers, and saved Imran Tahir for the tail. Good use of the short ball ensured South Africa's attack were in control for large swathes of the innings.
The bowlers set the tone in the first three overs, which ended with Nasir Jamshed top-edging an attempted pull for the second time in the series. Lonwabo Tsotsobe completed a well-judged catch at fine leg to enhance his opening passage of play, which also included sharp stops at fine-leg and three miserly overs in which he troubled Mohammad Hafeez.
On seeing the left-armer cause problems, de Villiers introduced Wayne Parnell at the other end, but the hero from the first match could not find his length in this one. He immediately dished up a full delivery to offer the first boundary of the innings - after 37 deliveries - and it became clear that Pakistan would target him.
Shehzad and Hafeez took 32 runs through pulls and drives off the last four Powerplay overs to set Pakistan up. They were going well when Hafeez stepped out against Ryan McLaren and inside-edged a back-of-a-length ball onto his stumps.
His departure forced Shehzad back into a shell and it was only Parnell's return that brought out the batsman's pull shot again. Misbah bided time with Shehzad, lashing out when JP Duminy tossed it up, but he soon grew impatient.
The Pakistan captain survived an edge off a Tsostobe delivery that went out of de Villiers' reach, but ran out of luck when he tried to hit Ryan McLaren over deep mid-wicket. Seven balls later, Shehzad offered a simple return catch to Tahir and Pakistan's problems began.
The two Umars - Amin and Akmal - were together for 51 balls in which they only managed 28 runs. South Africa's bowlers gave away very little and, with their fielding effort ensuring there were no stray singles, the pair were under pressure. Akmal relented, feeding a catch to the cover fielder, and Amin was trapped by a change of pace from McLaren, edging to de Villiers.
Pakistan's innings threatened to come apart, as it did on Wednesday in the first ODI, but Shahid Afridi found time for some big blows, even though he was involved in the run-out of Sohail Tanvir. His shot of the day came in the 46th over, a swing to long-off that only just bounced inside the boundary and was eclipsed by Wahab Riaz bludgeoning Morkel over cow corner in the next over.
Afridi fell on his sword, giving Morkel a third wicket, while Saeed Ajmal used the only review to unsuccessfully contest an lbw decision off a McLaren off-cutter. Pakistan could not muster much after that and will need a strong performance from their attack if they are to level the series.
25 overs Pakistan 103 for 2 (Shehzad 54*, Misbah 19*) v South Africa
Ahmed Shehzad's third consecutive fifty steadied and propelled Pakistan against a South African attack that showed the same discipline, albeit less penetration, than they did in the first ODI. After the early loss of Nasir Jamshed, Shehzad rebuilt with Mohammad Hafeez, and then Misbah-ul-Haq, to give Pakistan a base from which they should exceed the first innings average of 228 at this ground.
Initially, it seemed as though South Africa could keep them within those margins. A quiet first two overs ended with Jamshed falling prey to a short ball, for the second time in the series. He top-edged an attempted pull sending the ball high towards fine leg. AB de Villiers tried to race there from behind the stumps but left it to Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who made good ground and judged the chance expertly, to take the catch low down.
Tsotsobe continued to control the first six overs, cutting off the ball at fine leg twice when it seemed set to cross the boundary, bowling the only maiden of the first 10 overs and causing problems, especially to Mohammad Hafeez, with his angle. On observing the problems Pakistan were having against a left-armer, de Villiers made his first bowling change and brought on Wayne Parnell to replace Morkel.
Parnell dished up the first full ball of the innings and was driven through mid-wicket as a result. Ahmed Shehzad scored the first boundary off the 37th delivery of the match to get Pakistan's innings going. Seven runs were scored off Parnell's first over and the signal had been sent that Pakistan would be more aggressive.
Shehzad and Hafeez went on to pull and drive off both Tsotosbe and Parnell as the pair switched between too short and too full, raising questions about why Morkel was taken off in the first place. Pakistan finished the powerplay on 40 for 1, 32 of those runs coming off the last four overs.
Imran Tahir and Ryan McLaren were introduced after the fielding restrictions were lifted and at first, it seemed neither would be able keep the run-rate down. Hafeez brought up Pakistan's fifty midway through the 12th over, bisecting fielders on the leg side to perfection.
Hafeez had the start he wanted but threw it away when he came forward to McLaren and chopped a back-of-length delivery on to his stumps. It was up to Misbah-ul-Haq to rebuild again. Pakistan crept back into their shell as Tahir found good drift and Morkel was brought back.
Shehzad bided his time and waited to take runs off Parnell, who struggled to find his lengths. His half-century came off JP Duminy and Pakistan will want much more from him as they attempt to level the series.
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