Pakistan trumped ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 favourites South Africa by 29 runs via Duckworth-Lewis Method, in the Pool B match 29 at the Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday.
Chasing a revised total of 232 due to two rain intervals, South Africa could manage only 202 from 33.3 overs. However, Pakistan still remain on the third spot in the Points Table behind South Africa and defending champions India. Both South Africa and Pakistan have six points each, with former being on the second position on the basis of net run rate.
Sarfraz Ahmed, whose exclusion was heavily criticised from all corners, played a key role in the win as he scored a run-a-ball 49 and then took as many as six catches behind the wickets to make a strong statement to everyone in the Pakistan cricket management. The wicketkeeper-batsman was named Man of the Match for his effort which helped Pakistan earn a massive win as far as their momentum and confidence are concerned.
AB de Villiers proved why the cricket world considers him as among the best in the business when as he played a memorable knock at the Eden Park, which once again dished out a thrilling contest between the bat and the ball. De Villiers faced 58 balls and cracked five sixes and seven boundaries to score a splendid 77.
But unfortunately, his effort was not enough to make up for the mistakes that the other batsmen made and the South Africans paid a heavy price by losing their second match in the tournament.
South Africa suffered a batting collapse as none of their batsmen could resist the Pakistan pacers for long. The first man to be dismissed was Quinton de Kock, who got a rising delivery off Mohammad Irfan and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed took a sharp catch.
Amla looked in tremendous touch as he slammed three fours off Sohail Khan in the sixth over to provide his side some much-needed momentum. The bowler had earlier troubled du Plessis outside the off-stump but the batsman did well to survive the initial scare. At one stage, Amla was at 32 not out off just 20 balls, having scored all the runs in boundaries.
It was in the 10th over that the procession started. Rahat Ali bowled a peach of a delivery to get rid of du Plessis. The ball was very near to the body and the batsman was forced to play. Du Plessis got an edge and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed took a fine catch.
On the first ball of the next over, Wahab Riaz had Hashim Amla caught behind for 29-ball 38. The left-arm pacer came from over the wicket and produced a delivery going away from the batsman. Amla got an edge and Sarfraz did an excellent work to dive to his right and grab the ball.
South Africa promoted Rilee Rossouw above de Villiers. But the move backfired as he too departed after a brief stay at the crease. The batsman tried to hook one short ball, but got the edge and Wahab Riaz took a fine catch at thirdman to get rid of the batsman. David Miller was the next man in, but he could not get off the mark from the 13 balls he faced and a brilliant in-coming delivery trapped him on the pads.
Miller took the review but the replays showed that the ball was hitting him in line and there was no contact with the bat. The review was wasted as Miller was out plumb. The next batsman, perhaps the last recognised one, JP Duminy too fell on a short ball as he went for the hook shot but was caught at the fine leg. Dale Steyn came out confident as he presented straight bat on almost every ball, and hit a couple of boundaries before being caught behind in the 24th over off Mohammad Irfan.
While the wickets kept tumbling, South Africa captain AB de Villliers played a splendid innings to keep their hopes alive. The right-handed batsman looked in terrific touch once again when he flicked two sixes over the thirdman area off Riaz to keep scoreboard ticking. During his innings there were not only glorious strokes on the side side, but a few punches on the leg side — especially towards the big gaps that Misbah-ul-Haq kept on the midwicket region — were magnificent.
Misbah-ul-Haq‘s half-century and Sarfraz Ahmed‘s rapid 49 were the only bright spots as Pakistan were bowled out for 222 in 46.4 overs against South Africa, in their ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 match at the Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday. South Africa will be chasing 232 as per the revised target according to the Duckworth-Lewis method. South Africa were very impressive with Dale Steyn taking three wickets, and Kyle Abbott and Morne Morkel taking two wickets each.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 222 in 46.4 overs (Sarfraz Ahmed 49, Younis Khan 37, Misbah-ul-Haq 56; Dale Steyn 3 for 30, Morne Morkel 2 for 25, Kyle Abbott 2 for 45) beat South Africa 202 in 33.3 overs (Hashim Amla 38, AB de Villiers 77; Rahat Ali 3 for 40, Wahab Riaz 3 for 45, Mohammad Irfan 3 for 52) by 29 runs via D/L Method.
Man of the Match: Sarfraz Ahmed