ICC CWC 2015 Day 20

Pakistan beat South Africa by 29 runs (D/L)

Pakistan's pace bowlers stunned South Africa to earn a thrilling 29-run World Cup win in Auckland.

Chasing 232 in Auckland, South Africa were well placed on 67-1, before Pakistan's left-arm trio got to work.

Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali and Mohammad Irfan dismissed the Proteas for 202, despite captain AB de Villiers' 77.

Pakistan had earlier scraped to 222, with South Africa's target adjusted after rain reduced the match to 47 overs per side.

The victory, a third in succession, means Pakistan will definitely reach the quarter-finals if they beat Ireland in their final Pool B game on 15 March.

Ex-New Zealand captain Jeremy Coney on BBC Test Match Special
"I didn't think it was possible for Pakistan to defend a total like that but they picked up wickets and from nine overs on they held sway. At no stage, other than AB de Villiers, did the South Africa batsmen look comfortable at all. Pakistan bowled with real purpose. Once again, South Africa didn't cope with the pressure."

Even if they lose in Adelaide, Misbah-ul-Haq's side will have a chance of progressing on net run-rate depending on other results involving the Irish and West Indies.

For South Africa, a first opportunity to reach the last eight was missed, but their qualification will be assured with a win against the UAE on Thursday.

They arrived at Eden Park on the back of consecutive scores in excess of 400 but, like their earlier defeat by India, wilted when faced with the pressure of a run-chase.

De Villiers attempted a single-handed pursuit as the rest of his team failed to deal with the pace and bounce of the Pakistan attack.

De Villiers sets records in defeat
The 31-year-old is now the leading run-scorer at the 2015 World Cup with 318 runs from five innings.
The South Africa captain reached 1,000 World Cup runs in 20 innings, equalling Sachin Tendulkar as the quickest to this mark.
De Villiers's fifth six of the match was his 32nd in World Cups, passing Ricky Ponting's 31 for the most in tournament history.

The Proteas had earlier been cruising during a stand of 67 between Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, but, when Du Plessis feathered Rahat behind, it began a collapse of four wickets for 10 runs.

Amla was brilliantly caught behind by Sarfraz Ahmed off Riaz, Rilee Rossouw hooked the same bowler to fine leg and David Miller was trapped in front by Rahat.

When Irfan returned to have JP Duminy caught hooking, De Villiers was left to play a virtually lone hand, pulling Riaz for two sixes in the same over.

He dished out similar treatment to Afridi and flayed the attack in the batting powerplay to make an unlikely victory appear possible.

But, he edged an attempted hook off Sohail Khan behind with 32 still required and, soon after, Riaz found the edge of last man Imran Tahir to give Sarfraz a record-equalling sixth catch.

The Proteas had succumbed to sort of pace and hostility that their own bowlers had earlier produced to restrict Pakistan to what seemed like a substandard total.

Steyn stands out as death bowler
In his World Cup career Dale Steyn has taken 15 wickets bowling between overs 40 and 50 while conceding 81 runs in 21.1 overs at an average of 5.40 and economy rate of 3.82.

Sarfraz, at the top of the order in place of Nasir Jamshed, took the fight to South Africa by heaving three leg-side sixes from one Duminy over.

However, when he was needlessly run out by Miller's good work in the outfield, South Africa chipped through the Pakistan batting.

Indeed, the Proteas may have restricted Pakistan further had De Villiers not had to bowl six overs of his medium pace to cover for the expensive Duminy, who was on his return from injury.

Still, when Pakistan lost their final five wickets for 10 runs after a second rain delay, that seemed academic.

Captain Misbah was the eighth man out, his defiant 56 a fourth half-century in five innings. His team appeared beaten, yet, in fact, they already had enough.

Ireland beat Zimbabwe by 5 runs

Ireland maintained their quest for the World Cup quarter-finals with a tense five-run win over Zimbabwe in Hobart.

Ed Joyce made 112, while Andy Balbirnie was run out three short of a maiden hundred as Ireland posted 331-8, their highest one-day international total.

Zimbabwe required the highest chase in World Cup history and Brendan Taylor hit four sixes in 121 from 91 balls.

Seven were needed from the final over but the last two wickets fell as the Zimbabweans bowed out of the event.

Ireland next face unbeaten India, who have already qualified, on Tuesday.

The Irish team's final match is the last of the group fixtures in the tournament, against Pakistan on 15 March, when West Indies face UAE, and is likely to determine which other three sides will advance to the quarter-finals from Pool B.

Alan Lewis, former Ireland captain on BBC Test Match Special
"It looks like in this group that you will need eight points to get through but who knows? But the way this group has gone, I don't know what to say."

After a quiet start in which only six fours were scored in the opening 20 overs, Joyce and Balbirnie shared an Irish third-wicket record of 138 in 18 overs.

Sussex left-hander Joyce, who played 17 ODI matches for England from 2006-7, averaging 27, might have departed first ball, but a TV review deemed his edge had fallen short of slip.

He was dropped on 34 and again having completed his third ODI ton, while Balbirnie's attractive innings came to an unfortunate end when his dive was short of the crease while attempting an ambitious second run in the final over.

Despite the formidable target, Taylor, who became only the fourth Zimbabwean to pass 5,000 ODI runs, used his feet in assured fashion, timing the ball exquisitely to compile his first century since 2011.

He had guided his team to within 109 of victory when he was smartly deceived by Alex Cusack's slower ball in the 38th over, spooning a catch to mid-wicket.

Left-hander Sean Williams, who had compiled 149 with Taylor, somehow kept his team in contention before, with 32 needed from 19 balls, he holed out to deep mid-wicket when on 96, John Mooney taking the catch above his head with his foot perilously close to the boundary boards.

Yet 17 runs from the penultimate over kept the match on a knife-edge before Cusack took the remaining two wickets to finish with 4-32, as Ireland held on for their third victory in four matches.