ABU DHABI
Rusty Theron took a career-best 4-27 to help a clinical South Africa upstage Pakistan by six wickets in the second Twenty20 international here on Wednesday to take the two match series 2-0.
The 26-year-old Theron bowled with purpose as South Africa once again restricted the former World Twenty20 champions to a low score of 120-9 on a flat Abu Dhabi cricket Stadium for a second day in succession.
South Africa won the first match by the same margin on Tuesday. Graeme Smith (38) and Colin Ingram (31) led the South African reply with Jean-Paul Duminy (19 not out) hitting the winning runs to complete the team’s chase with eight balls to spare.
Smith and Loots Bosman (11) gave South Africa a sound start of 38 before Bosman fell to Shahid Afridi. AB de Villiers and Smith took the score to 63 when Pakistan took two quick wickets. Smith and De Villers fell in quick succession, but Duminy and Ingram added 41 for the fourth wicket, batting with guts and application as Pakistani spinners failed to extract any life out of the track.
Ingram hit four boundaries and a six during his robust 17-ball innings. Earlier, Theron (4-27) built on some early knocks by fellow fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe (2-20) to stop Pakistan from posting a fighting total for a second day in succession.
Only Misbah-ul-Haq, who top scored with 27 in the first match, survived the effective South African bowling, with a resolute 38-ball 33, hitting two boundaries and a six. It was Haq who gave Pakistan’s total some respectability through a 45-run sixth wicket stand with Abdul Razzaq (25) after Pakistan lost half of its side for a paltry 39 inside eight overs.
Tsotsobe, who took 3-16 to restrict Pakistan to 119 on Tuesday, once again removed both the openers Shahzaib Hasan (six) and Imran Farhat (nine) to give South Africa an ideal start after their opponents won the toss and elected to bat.
Theron then took charge as he removed Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi (three) before dismissing Haq and Umar Gul off successive deliveries. He finished his spell by bowling Zulqarnain Haider (17) off the last ball of the innings. The two teams now play the first of five one-day internationals here on Friday.
