Pakistan bowlers restricted the South Africas to a below-par total and the batsmen were ahead of the target before rain intervened.

By Abdullah Ansari (7th June, 2017)

In a must win game for Pakistan after a crushing loss at the hands of arch-rivals India, South Africa were the ones who started with an advantage as AB de Villiers won the toss and opted to bat. Sarfraz Ahmed's men opted to make two changes with Fakhar Zaman (on ODI debut) and Junaid Khan replacing Ahmed Shehzad and Wahab Riaz. The opponents, meanwhile, opted for an unchanged side from the one that easily defeated the Sri Lankans a few days earlier.

The Proteas' openers arrived at the crease and expectations of a large total being put up by the batting side grew after the initial few overs from Amir and Junaid were safely negotiated, despite a slightly sedate pace to proceedings. Imad came into the attack towards the end of the powerplay and struck gold almost instantaneously as he pinned Amla LBW with a straight delivery. Sarfraz went for an all-spin attack with Hafeez introduced and the move looked to be a good one as he troubled de Kock straight away. He would have had him LBW if Pakistan had reviewed an early appeal but they opted against it; replays showed the ball was hitting leg-stump. However, that didn't prove too costly as soon after a big shot, de Kock tried to sweep one and missed it and was plumb LBW.

At this point, the scoring rate was taking a nose-dive due to some tight overs of spin. Enter de Villiers, one of the best batsman in world cricket and the top batsman statistically in the format over the last decade. However, he couldn't have chosen a worse time (for South Africa) to get his first-ever golden duck in the format. Imad bowled one outside off, the batsman went for a big drive but only succeeded in finding Hafeez at backward point. A few tight overs of spin ensued, with Hasan Ali later coming into the attack. He dismissed du Plessis off just his second delivery, as the batsman dragged one onto his stumps. The Pakistani pacer continued bowling a good spell and produced the goods again in his fourth over. He bowled a full delivery to Duminy who drived, nicked it and was taken superbly by Babar at slip. Next ball, Hasan produced an early contender for ball of the tournament with an excellent delivery around the stumps to a bewildered Parnell; the ball straightened, missed the bat and smashed the stumps. A dream sight for any fast bowler, as South Africa were reduced to 118/6.

In the meantime, Miller was playing a responsible knock but was fast running out of partners. He was joined at the crease by Morris and the two batsmen looked to stage an improbable recovery. They negotiated several overs from the likes of Hasan and Shadab, rotating strike and looking to build the innings. With a hint of reverse-swing on offer, Sarfraz went back to his main bowlers, Amir and Junaid. The two needed no second invitation to start targeting the stumps, with Amir bowling a stunning yorker to Miller that saw him lose his footing and almost fall face first on the pitch. The umpire ruled it out, but the batsman rightfully reviewed; it was missing leg-stump. Two balls later, Junaid cleaned up Morris - but it was a no-ball. The reprieve wasn't too costly, though. With pressure rising due to tight bowling, Morris went for a big shot off Junaid but couldn't middle it, with Hasan taking a good catch. Miller got to his fifty in the meantime while Rabada arrived at the crease to provide him support. South Africa couldn't really find the boundaries regularly but the score inched beyond 200. Junaid got another wicket as Rabada looked to clear the rope but only hit the ball straight up into the air, where again it was Hasan who took an excellent catch. Miller finished the innings with a boundary, ending on 75* as South Africa scraped to 219/8.

The chase began with the duo of Rabada and Parnell bowling to Pakistan's latest ODI opening combination, Azhar and Fakhar. From the outset, it was clear that Azhar was looking to play the role of the stabiliser while Fakhar would go after the bowling. Some uncharacteristically poor bowling upfront by the pacers allowed Fakhar the opportunity he needed and with no hesitation, he raced away. Any hint of width was punished, as he strongly cut the ball square and drove one straight for four. The opener even went after South Africa's main man, Rabada, lofting him over mid-on and then driving one on the up for four. By then, he had raced to 31 with six fours; in comparison, South Africa only managed nine in their whole innings! It came to an end soon, however, as Morkel deceived him with a clever slower ball and he was out for 31 off just 23 balls. It became two wickets in three balls as Azhar tried to ramp the fast-bowler, but failed to take the third man fielder into account and was easily caught.

The innings almost came to a standstill after that with Pakistan once playing twenty dot balls in a row as Morkel bowled a testing spell. Babar and Hafeez looked to ride it out until scoring became easier. Runs became more accessible after a few overs as South Africa decided to go to their main spinner, Imran Tahir. He almost struck in his third over after a review; it all looked good for the fielding side until the final moment when Hawkeye projected that the ball was bouncing over the stumps. With rain on the horizon, Pakistan began to pick up the pace though Hafeez soon fell to Morkel, caught pulling after making 26 off 53 balls. Malik showed a more positive attitude straight away, hitting Rabada for back to back boundaries while Babar also began to pick up the pace. Soon, the rain arrived with Pakistan at 119/3 in 27 overs. That was to be the final score; the par score at that point was 100, and Pakistan sealed a comfortable 19-run win according to the DLS method.

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