A superb all-round performance propelled Pakistan to a second successive ODI series victory in South Africa after a comprehensive 81-run victory over the Proteas at Newlands on Thursday night.
The visitors set the Proteas a record 330-run target, which proved to be comfortably enough, despite Heinrich Klaasen once again fighting a lone battle for the hosts.
Shaheen Shah Afridi was spectacular with the old ball for Pakistan as the left-arm seamer managed to gain excessive reverse-swing at high speed to finish with superb figures of 4/47.
Klaasen followed his 86 two days ago at Boland Park with another superb 97 (off 74 balls, 8x4, 4x6).
Class from Klaasen 👏
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) December 19, 2024
He brings up another 50 in the ODI format 💪
📺 Stream #SAvPAK on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyQxaw pic.twitter.com/s9rEomN2DU
But like in Paarl, the rest of the Proteas batters did not provide the support that was required.
There were starts for Tony de Zorzi (34), Rassie van der Dussen (23), Aiden Markram (21) and David Miller (29), but none of them could stay with Klaasen long enough to form a worthwhile partnership.
This was in complete contrast to Pakistan, with the experienced pair of Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan rekindling the glory days of yore with a match-winning 115-run partnership for the third wicket.
The pair had come together after the loss of openers Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub.
Shafique fell for his second consecutive duck of the series, caught behind off Marco Jansen, but Saim certainly looked like a man who had scored a century in the previous game.
He played with plenty of flair in his 31-ball 25 (5x4), but became Proteas debutant Kwena Maphaka’s first ODI victim when he slashed a short delivery to Rassie van der Dussen on the third-man boundary.
Babar (73) and Rizwan (80) were content to absorb the early pressure, and in their trademark style, they were content to rotate the strike and run the singles hard without taking much risk.
It was Rizwan, though, who broke the shackles with a slog sweep over midwicket for six off Aiden Markram.
Babar stayed within his copybook, picking up the occasional boundary when the Proteas’ bowlers erred in length to bring up his first half-century in 22 ODI innings.
The partnership eventually came to a rather tame close when Babar slapped Andile Phehlukwayo straight to short mid-wicket.
Rizwan followed shortly afterwards too, when Maphaka held onto a superb caught-and-bowled.
𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝 🤌
Kwena Maphaka's debut just keeps getting better 🤩
📺 Stream #SAvPAK on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyQxaw pic.twitter.com/kagLJOmAIE
But that’s when it all unravelled for the South Africans.
Instead of seizing the initiative after the double strike, the Proteas’ fielding – in particular their catching – went to shambles as they dropped a litany of opportunities.
It also coincided with Kamran Ghulam’s blistering 63 off 32 balls that put the game out of reach of the Proteas.
There were two further wickets for Maphaka, who finished with 4/72, but the youngster would certainly have learnt plenty from his first ODI in what was one of the bright moments for the Proteas on the night. | Independent Media Sport
Brief Scores
Pakistan: 329 all out
South Africa: 248 all out
Pakistan won by 81 runs, won the series 2-0