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SA beat Pakistan by 1 wicket in a thriller
SA held their nerve while Pakistan lost theirs in a match that had everyone on the edge of their seats
The 2023 World Cup finally has a match that went right down to the wire. A close contest, a mad contest and everything else in between. In the end, as Keshav Maharaj let out a guttural roar, South Africa had somehow managed to pip a desperate Pakistan by one wicket at Chennai’s M A Chidambaram Stadium. The choke had been on but the Proteas survived.
With South Africa looking comfortable in their chase of 270, the game suddenly came alive in the 41st over. Upto that point, SA were well in control of their chase -- needing 22 runs from 60 balls with four wickets in hand. Easy, right? Think again.
But much to their fans' dismay, Aiden Markram, who had led the chase with a superb 91 (93 balls), went for a big shot off leg-spinner Usama Mir only to get a leading edge. His dismissal would have sent shockwaves in the SA dressing room.
In the next over, Shaheen Shah Afridi got a wicket off the first ball to remove Gerald Coetzee to make it 250/8 . Then, Haris Rauf took an impossible, improbable catch off his own bowling to send Lungi Ngidi back. Keshav Maharaj, however, kept his nerve to hold fort at one end. With four runs to win, he turned left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz’s second ball of the 48th over to the fine leg fence to clinch victory.
It was a heartbreaking result for Pakistan. They have the reputation of coming alive late but they've left themselves with no margin for error. At Chennai, they lived up to their reputation but were left to rue the below-par showing by the batters, who were not able to play out the 50 overs. After their fourth straight defeat, they are in a tough spot.
SA go top of the points table with their fifth win, having a better run-rate than India, who have a game in hand.
Smart bowling
Earlier, smart bowling changes by captain Temba Bavuma, effective use of the short balls by the pacers and a superb display of wrist spin bowling by Tabraiz Shamsi helped SA keep a check on the Pakistan batting.
But Pakistan recovered well after being 141/5 to reach 270.
Shamsi was the pick of the bowlers with 4/60, providing the vital breakthroughs in the middle overs after Jansen had done the damage at the start of the innings. The tall left-armer picked up 3/43 while Coetzee finished with 2/42.
Along with India, SA have been the team to beat at this World Cup. While they had been brutal while setting the targets in this tournament, the Proteas had faltered at the only time they chased, against Netherlands. The bowlers had done well to restrict Pakistan, but all eyes were on their chase. They will be relieved to have ticked that box also on Friday.
The game seemed to be well poised at the end of the first powerplay with the score on 67/2. But Markram put the pressure back on the bowlers with some scintillating strokeplay. An outrageous upper-cut six off fast bowler Haris Rauf and a pull shot off left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz to clear the midwicket fence even while cramped for room stood out. He raced to 29 of 17 balls to bring up the 100 in 13.4 overs.
The game continued to swing from one side to the other. Markram saw Rassie van der Dussen and Henreich Klaasen fall in quick succession as SA stumbled to 136/4.
While SA batters have a dubious history under pressure, David Miller though has made a name for himself in India by scripting impossible chases in the IPL for the Gujarat Titans. The left-hander used that experience to help put on a crucial 70 runs with Markram to keep a charged-up attack at bay. He played his natural game and combined with Markram to add 52 off 46 balls. At the end of 30 overs, SA were in control at 191/4, needing 80 off 20 overs.
At the other end, Markram continued his solid play at the other end. He completed a run-a-ball 50 and brought up the 200 with a superb backfoot punch past point off Rauf for his sixth four to move to 75. The equation was down to 68 off 106 balls.
In a do-or-die situation after three straight losses, Pakistan kept fighting. Afridi produced an excellent delivery to get rid of Miller and give his team some hope.
Jansen had been in superb touch with the bat so far but the situation had an edge to it. And his ill-advised shot gave Pakistan a chance; a chance they could not ultimately take. But it gave all those watching a chance to experience the drama that the World Cup had so badly missed so far.
