CHENNAI, 28th Oct 2023: South African batters managed to hold onto their nerves as they edged spirited Pakistan by one wicket in the 26th match of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023. Set to chase 271, South Africa’s No 9 Keshav Maharaj scored the winning boundary off Mohammad Nawaz on the second ball of the 48th over. South African openers Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma gave their side a brisk start by scoring 30 runs in the first two overs. Shaheen Afridi spoiled South Africa’s flying start as he got rid of de Kock in the fourth over, who scored a 14-ball 24, hitting 5 fours. Aiden Markram then joined Bavuma in the middle and the pair shared a 33-run stand before the Proteas captain perished in the 10th over, scoring a 27-ball 28. Markram was then joined by Rassie van der Dussen in the middle and the duo stitched an anchoring 54-run partnership before Usama Mir trapped the latter lbw on 21. South Africa then sustained a major blow to their pursuit as in-form Heinrich Klaasen (12) perished cheaply in the second over, causing South Africa to slip to 136/4. David Miller then joined forces with Markram to put together a 70-run stand which lasted when Shaheen got the former caught behind in the 34th over. He made a 33-ball 29. Markram, alongside Marco Jansen, added 29 runs to the total for the sixth wicket before Jansen fell victim to Haris Rauf after a brisk 20-run cameo. Aiden Markram then finally perished in the 41st over with the scoreboard reading 250. He looked to have Usama over the top but only managed a leading edge to hand a simple catch to Babar Azam. He remained the top-scorer for South Africa with a gutsy 91 in 93 deliveries, laced up with 7 fours and 3 sixes. South Africa further slipped to 250/8 in the next over when Gerald Coetzee (13) got caught behind off Shaheen. After this, South Africa’s hopes were on Keshav Maharaj, who put on a 10-run partnership with Lungi Ngidi (4) before a match-winning 11-run partnership with Tabraiz Shamsi (4*). Maharaj made unbeaten 21-ball 7 runs. Shaheen Afridi claimed 3/45 while Haris Rauf, Usama Mir and M Wasim Jr bagged two wickets each. Earlier after opting to bat, Pakistan slipped to 38-2 in the seventh over, with both opening batters back in the dugout. Skipper Babar Azam and M Rizwan then raised a 48-run stand for the third wicket before the latter knicked Gerald Coetzee to Quinton De Kock. Rizwan’s 27-ball 31 featured four boundaries and one six. Iftikhar Ahmed then helped knit a 41-run partnership with Babar Azam. However, Tabraiz Shamsi removed both batters in back-to-back overs to reduce Pakistan to 141-5. Babar scored a 65-ball 50, while Iftikhar hit 21 off 31 balls. Saud Shakeel and Shadab Khan then stabilized Pakistan’s innings with a counterattacking partnership of 84 runs from 71 balls. Coetzee then sent packing to Shadab Khan, who made 43 off 36. Saud Shakeel completed his third ODI half-century before getting caught behind by Shamsi at a total of 240-7. His run-a-ball 52 featured 7 fours. M Nawaz then struck 24 to help drag Pakistan’s total to 268. Subsequently, Lungi Ngidi picked his solitary wicket to wrap Pakistan’s innings at 270. Tabraiz Shamsi topped the bowling charts for South Africa with his four-fer, while Marco Jansen achieved figures of 3-43.
Reference Link: https://www.nation.com.pk/28-Oct-2023/south-africa-down-pakistan-in-a-nail-biter