The Proteas walked into the game as firm favorites after the exposure of Pakistanis batters’ weakness to pace and bounce. Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bat first, a sign of toughness and clear message of belief in his bowling arsenal to defend any target.
The openers once again struggled to come in terms with the fiery pace and seam, as both fell cheaply again, strengthening the worries at the top with the middle order finding itself in a bailout again. The score read 43-4 after 7 overs, with Iftikar and Nawaz steadied the ship, ensuring they didn’t lose any more wickets in a tense period of play. The middle order has carried the batting throughout the tournament and it rose to the occasion today, in a batting display of the highest quality. Iftikhar and Shadab broke loose and hammered their way to a competitive total of 185/9, with the help of rain and some shoddy fielding by the Proteas. Shadab Khan once again showed his batting prowess as he raced to the second fastest fifty by a Pakistani batter of just 20 balls and Iftikhar notched up his second fifty of the tournament, as he quietly walks under the radar and performs his role perfectly.
Rain threatened play continuously as the South African batters walked out with the mammoth chase ahead of them. Temba Bavuma has been under the scanner off late after a string of poor performances and the Pakistani bowling attack certainly packed a punch and a half but he turned his fortunes around after losing his partner cheaply, smacking Haris Rauf for a six, stroking his way to an eventful 36. Shadab Khan was brought into the atack and continued to have a great day, bagging two important wickets of Bavuma and Markaram before rain stopped play, bringing a disappointing halt to the game.
The DLS calculators were out and South Africa’s target was reduced to 142, effectively leaving them with 73 to chase in 5 overs. The Proteas needed to bat out of their skin to achieve such a high target with a weak batting line up and crumbled to some immaculate and precise bowling. Pakistan eventually applied their strangle and ended up winning the game by 33 runs, in a victory that would certainly send a wave of positive energy across the dressing room.
The Group of Death has lived up to its name with no team still qualifying and everything to play for in the last games, Group B has provided some entertaining and heartbreaking cricket. With all to play for, the last week of the group stages promises to be an enthralling experience