In the second ODI between Pakistan and South Africa, at Newlands in Cape Town, Pakistan set a challenging target of 329 runs after batting first. The innings got off to a rocky start when opener Abdullah Shafique was dismissed for zero for the second time in this series in the opening over by Marco Jansen.
Last match’s centurion Saim Ayub managed to add 25 runs before he was caught out by the third man while facing debutant Kwena Maphaka’s bowling. Babar Azam and skipper Mohammad Rizwan steadied the innings with a crucial 115-run stand. Babar made 73 off 95 balls, while Rizwan contributed a solid 80 off 82 deliveries.
After completing his fifty Rizwan tried to attack the South African bowlers and managed to smash three boundaries in an over of Kwena Maphaka, but the pacer dismissed the Pakistani skipper with a great return catch.
Towards the end of the innings, Kamran Ghulam delivered a fiery performance, smashing 63 runs off just 32 balls, Shaheen Shah Afridi also showed his power-hitting skills and contributed a quick 16 runs boosting Pakistan’s total significantly.
For the South African bowling side, Kwena Maphaka shone on his ODI debut, picking up 4 wickets for 72 runs. Marco Jansen also played a key role, taking 3 wickets, while Tabraiz Shamsi went wicketless in his 8 overs.
As South Africa began their chase, openers Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi started steadily. By the end of 3 overs, they had scored 16 runs without losing a wicket, leaving them 314 runs to get in the remaining 47 overs.
With a brilliant catch by Haris Rauf in the deep Naseem Shah ended the opening partnership of 34 runs in the 6th over, Zorzi was looking good after smashing Shaheen and Naseem for three boundaries before mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed cleaned up Zorzi in 12th over.
The Pakistani spinners once again caused problems for the hosts and made South African batsmen work hard for the runs in the middle overs, the pressure resulted in the wicket of Rassie van der Dussen as he tried to release the pressure with a big shot and was caught in the deep.
Klaasen and David Miller stabilized the innings for the hosts but Shaheen Shah Afridi stepped up and provided a much-needed breakthrough for Pakistan as Miller was caught behind by the skipper Rizwan.
Klaasen was fighting a lone battle against Pakistan and was dismissed on 97 runs by Naseem Shah, Pakistan secured a series win against South Africa. Pakistan won the third consecutive ODI series under the leadership of Mohammad Rizwan.
The third ODI between Pakistan and South Africa will be played on 22 December, at Wanderers Stadium.
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Jasir Basharat is a cricket enthusiast capturing the heart of the game through insightful analysis and storytelling sharing his passion for the sport through engaging narratives. He is a business graduate from University of Kashmir.
