Guwahati: Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan’s astonishing fifty-run partnerships and Shaheen Shah Afridi’s three-wicket haul helped Pakistan defeat South Africa by 33 runs in a game that was postponed due to rain on Thursday at the SCG in Sydney as part of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Temba Bavuma, South Africa’s captain, topped the team in scoring in the 14-over match that was postponed due to rain with 36 off 19 while Aiden Markram made 20 runs off 14 deliveries. Shadab Khan took two wickets, while Shaheen took three for Pakistan.
Pakistan can keep praying against hope for a miracle after doing what was required of them against South Africa with this convincing victory over the Proteas.
With the victory, Pakistan earned four points and moved up to third place in Group 2. South Africa still holds the second position in the table with five points following the loss.
South Africa’s attempt to chase down a challenging mark of 186 got off to a shaky start when they lost openers Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw in the span of three overs, leaving them reeling at 16/2.
De Kock was out for 0 in the very first over of the innings by Pakistan’s top pacer Shaheen Afridi. Afridi unleashed a stunning short and wide outside-off delivery in the third over of the inning to eliminate Rossouw for 7 runs.
The opposition was then subdued by Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram, who pounded Haris Rauf for 20, runs in the fourth over of the contest.
Shadab Khan was subsequently introduced into the attack, and the spinner quickly established himself as one of Pakistan’s top bowlers by dismissing both Markram and well-established batsman Bavuma for 36 off 19 and 20 off 14, respectively, putting South Africa in trouble at 66/4.
After that, Tristan Stubbs entered the game. Rain halted play after nine overs, with South Africa’s score reading 69/4 and new batters Tristan Stubbs and Heinrich Klaasen playing unbeaten innings of 2 and 4 respectively. Pakistan had a 16-run lead at that stage according to the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) system.
After a lengthy break, the game was restarted with a DLS target of 142 with South Africa’s innings being limited to 14 overs. The Proteas’ remaining five overs would have to be sufficient to score 73 runs.
Tristan Stubbs blasted Shadab Khan for 14 runs in the first over of the resumed play, thanks to a magnificent four and a six.
Heinrich Klaasen also extended his hands to slam Afridi for consecutive two fours, but his time at the wicket was short-lived because he was bowled after making 15 off 9 deliveries.
The next batter was Wayne Parnell, but he did not have much success as he was retired by Mohammad Wasim Jr. in the 12th over of the innings after only scoring three runs. The next batter to bat was Kagiso Rabada.
Proteas now just needed to score 43 runs in 12 balls. In the game’s thirteenth over, Naseem Shah’s slower ball removed Stubbs for 18 off 18. Pakistan won by 33 runs thanks to South Africa’s batsmen’ inability to score more than 7 runs in the last over.
After losing quick wickets against South Africa, Pakistan earlier posted a difficult total of 185/9 with the support of outstanding fifty-plus scores from Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed.
Shadab helped Pakistan bounce back from the Protea pacers’ early setback with a thunderous fifty off just 20 balls. In addition, Iftikhar scored 51 while serving as the team’s anchor to enable them finish with a respectable score.
Mohammad Rizwan, a crucial batsman for Pakistan, was struck by an inswinging delivery from Wayne Parnell in the opening over, which marked a poor start for their batting effort.
The successor to Fakhar Zaman Parnell struck Mohammad Haris in the head as he was standing with his tail up after dismissing Rizwan earlier in the over. Haris, on the other hand, fought back forcefully in the second over, hitting Kagiso Rabada for back-to-back sixes as well as a four in the same over.
As he smacked Parnell for another boundary in the following over, the batter appeared dangerous. Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, looked to bide his time at the wicket despite struggling to find the centre of the bat.
In the fifth over, Haris kept up his aggressive style by scooping Anrich Nortje over the wicketkeeper’s head for a six. On the very next delivery, the bowler managed to dismiss him by trapping him leg before wicket in front of the stumps.
Prior to being removed for 28 off 11 balls, the right-hander made a quick cameo to increase Pakistan’s net run rate.
Lungi Ngidi stopped the shaky inning of the batter in the sixth over, ending Pakistan’s captain’s inning and dropping the team to 42/3 at the conclusion of the powerplay.
When Nortje dismissed Shan Masood in the seventh over, Pakistan was given another setback and put on the back foot.
The Pakistani innings was aided by a crucial fifth-wicket partnership between Mohammad Nawaz and Iftikhar Ahmed, who both appeared at ease at the crease and helped the side pass the 10-over threshold at 68/4.
As he hammered Kagiso Rabada for two boundaries in the 10th over, Iftikhar appeared to be in excellent condition and to be the most at ease of all the hitters.
Left-hander Nawaz looked to take the attack to the bowlers after having spent time at the wicket and attacked Ngidi in the 12th over, smashing him for two boundaries. The batter put his foot on the accelerator as he took Tabraiz Shamsi to the cleaners, smashing him for a massive six and a four in the 13th over.
However, Shamsi prevailed and came out on top as he dismissed Nawaz on the last over of the 13th over. Iftikhar continued his merry way and smashed Parnell for a six to bring up his team’s hundred in the 14th over.
All-rounder Shadab Khan, who had just walked out to bat, took a liking to Shamsi and scored a six and a boundary of the bowler in the 15th over.
The ace all-rounder then decimated the Proteas bowlers as he sent the ball flying around the ground frequently, providing a much-required boost to the Pakistani inning.
He went on to score a fifty off just 20 balls in the 19th over, with Iftikhar also bringing up his half-century in the same over. The batting duo bludgeoned the South African bowlers as they stitched an 82-run partnership off just 35 balls, helping resurrect the Pakistani inning.
Pakistani lower order scored 117 runs in the last 10 overs, helping the team post a challenging total for the South African team, as they ended with 185/9 in their 20 overs.
Brief Score: Pakistan 185/9 (Shadab Khan 52, Iftikhar Ahmed 51; Anrich Nortje 4-41) vs South Africa 108/9 (Temba Bavuma 36, Aiden Markram 20; Shaheen Shah Afridi 3-14).