World Of Cricket

Pakistan ended their tour of South Africa with South Africa winning the last ODI to bag the ODI series 3-2, the series was closely fought and both teams showed great spirit throughout the series.

Misbah-ul-Haq was the only batsman from Pakistani side to score over 200 runs in the ODI series © AFP

SERIES REPORT:

Everyone witnessed a great battle between two cricket giants Pakistan and South Africa, Pakistan fought hard in the ODI series but South Africa remained one foot ahead of Pakistan to seal the ODI series 3-2.

Let us look at the performances of the players from both sides throughout the ODI series.

SOUTH AFRICA:

Ab de Villiers:

This man never gets tired of scoring, he remained the talking point throughout the series and all for good reason. He led his team from the front and was the backbone of South Africa’s batting. He scored 367 runs the top run getter of the series and won the Man Of  The Series award as well.

Hashim Amla:

The man of crisis, scored runs at will. He and Ab de Villiers milked Pakistani bowlers throughout the series, he scored 207 runs at an avergae of 40.80.

Ryan Mclaren:

Ryan Mclaren the all rounder from South Africa was the second highest wicket taker in the series he picked up 11 wickets at an avergae 18.70.

PAKISTAN:

Misbah-ul-Haq:

Just like Ab de Villiers, Misbah-ul-Haq batted in tricky situations and helped his team out of misery on many occasions, he batted with calmness and sense of responsibility throughout the series. He was the Second highest run getter of the series and one of the positive for Pakistan during the series.

Mohammad Irfan:

The 7 footer was the high point for Pakistan during the one day series. He inspired one and all during the series, he was the highest wicket taker of the series, he also just played 4 matches in the series and picked up 11 wickets at an average of 13.72.

Saeed Ajmal:

The off-spinner from Pakistan again lived upto his reputation, he picked up 8 wickets at an average of 26.75 during the series. But Ajmal would be a bit disappointed as South Africa played him well on different occasions during the series.

South Africa beat Pakistan in the last ODI by 6 wickets to take the ODI series 3-2, Ab de Villiers for his heroic performance was declared Player of the match and Player of the series.

Ab de Villiers scored 95 to help his team beat Pakistan © AFP

Pakistan’s dream of winning a series in South Africa remained a dream for them as South Africa defeated them in the final ODI to win the ODI series 3-2 and end their summer on a high.

Earliar in the day Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and elected to bat first on a two pace wicket. Pakistan’s openers could not make much impact as they both fell inside 10 overs. After them Younis Khan and Kamran Akmal rebuild the innings to some extent, Akmal was in particular looking in good touch.

As soon as Kamran Akmal started to look threatening, he throwed his wicket away as he was dismissed by Robin Peterson of a well thought out plan. After Akmal, Farhaan Behardein got a dream first ODI wicket  as he picked Younis Khan who was brialliantly caught by Hashim Amla at short mid-wicket.

With Misbah and Malik at the crease now Pakistan were again in a rebuilding stage, but again another Pakistani batsman got start and then was dismissed this time Malik fell who was also looking good but the dual nature of the pitch led to his dismissal as the ball stopped a bit in the pitch.

Afridi was the next man in and he may had played the most irresponsible shot of the match as he tried to heave Mclaren of the second ball he faced and was caught at long leg.  With Pakistan in all sorts of trouble and Misbah was the only hope left for them but he couldn’t add much too as he was soon dismissed by Mclaren. Pakistani tail enders fought a bit and pushed Pakistan’s score to 205 to give their bowlers something to bowl at.

The second innings started with South Africa favourites to take the series but Junaid Khan and Mohammad Hafeez found early wickets to puts the break on South Africa’s scoring rate.

But the biggest moment in the match was about to come. Younis khan who is arguably one of the finest fielder Pakistan has produced, dropped a dolly of Ab de Villiers when he was only on 1. A fielder of Younis’s caliber would take that sort of catch 10 out of 10 times but today was not his day. The dropped chance proved to be costly in the end.

Both Amla and De villiers were looking to take the game away but Irfan dismissed Amla to bring Pakistan back into the game. Farhaan Behardein then joined De villiers and they both scored at will leaving Pakistan no chance of coming back into the game.

De villiers played a captain’s knock of 95* and Behardein supported him with a crucial 35 in the end South Africa won the match by 6 wickets and with this win they took the ODI series 3-2.

Pakistan and South Africa will face each other for the last time in this series tomorrow at Benoni. Currently both teams have won 2 games each, tomorrows game will be a decider.

Pakistan aim to end tour on a high © Getty Images

MATCH PREVEIW:

Pakistan are just one game behind from creating a history, if Pakistan beat South Africa in tomorrows encounter then Pakistan will win a ODI series for the first time against South Africa. Misbah-ul-Haq has a wonderful opportunity to become first Pakistani captain ever to beat South Africa in a ODI series.

On the other hand South Africa will also be hungry for a ODI series victory, they are a exceptional test side but they would like to win more consistently in shorter forms of the game, South Africa lost there last series against New Zealand therefore they will be aiming to surprise Pakistan.

The Favourite:

Pakistan will start as favourites in tomorrows game. They will be aiming to register second consecutive series victory in tomorrows game. South Africa would like that their players make victory tough for Pakistan.

Players to rely on:

Robin Peterson would like to perform for his team in tomorrows game. He can be very handy player at times, he has not yet contributed much in this series though he would like to change all that in tomorrows game.

Kamran Akmal was promoted up the batting order for the last few games, but he has disappointed his fans with his batting form so far, he would like to contribute big in tomorrows fixture.

Teams:

Greame smith will miss out for the last ODI due to injury this will mean that most likely Quinton de Kock will be playing in place of Grame Smith.

South Africa (most probable): 1 Quinton de Kock, 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Colin Ingram, 4 AB de Villiers (capt, wk), 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Ryan McLaren 8 Robin Peterson 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Rory Kleinveldt, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Pakistan will most probably enter with the same lineup.
Pakistan (most probable): 1 Imran Farhat, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Kamran Akmal (wkt), 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Saeed Ajmal 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Mohammed Irfan

This day reminds us of the famous semi-final between South Africa and England. South Africa required 22 to win from 13 balls against England in 1992 world-cup semi-final to reach the final but it all changed after the rain interrupted the match.

South Africa had a impossible task to achieve after the rain interrupted the game © Patrick Eagar

The match that can never be forgotten as South Africa were left helpless after rain interrupted the game. South Africa and England were battling to mark their place in world-cup final. South Africa were playing their inaugural world cup and it turned out to be a forgettable day for them.

England batted first in a rain hit match and scored 252 in 45 overs. South Africa while chasing the target kept losing wickets at regular intervals but they remained in the hunt. The game was all set for exciting finish as South Africa needed 22 to win of 13 balls but  the real drama started when rain interrupted the game.

Play did resume after the rain but it was only a formality by that time as the equation went totally against South Africa, after the rain South Africa required 22 to win of 1 ball, which was a impossible task.

England went on to play their 3rd world cup final but they lost yet another final, Pakistan won the world-cup, it was also the first world-cup with coloured kits.

After an exciting match Pakistan claimed victory with 3 wickets remaining, South Africa posted 234 runs batting first which Pakistan chased in 49th over.

Misbah and Farhat helped Pakistan in leveling the series © AFP

Pakistan equalize the series with a 3 wicket victory over South Africa in Durban, both teams entered in the match with one change each. South Africa replaced Faf du Plessis with David Miller and Pakistan left Nasir Jamshed out and added Imran Farhat in playing 11.

Earilar in the day South Africa elected to bat first after winning the toss. It was a good batting pitch but Irfan destroyed South Africa’s top order with 2 perfect deliveries to start the match Hashim Amla was caught by Kamran Akmal and Colin Ingram got a brute of a ball, Pakistan were off to an ideal start.

Graeme smith’s uneasy series continued as he failed to score again he was picked by Junaid Khan. Ab de Villiers again helped South Africa to get into a reasonable sort of position, He has carried the burden of South Africa’s batting on his shoulder many times and he again did this today. He along with David Miller compiled a healthy partnership which took South Africa out of misery.

David Miller proved to be a good replacement as he scored quick 67. No one else from South Africa contributed heavily but little cameos down the order from Peterson and Kleinveldt took South Africa to 234. For Pakistan Irfan, Khan and Ajmal took 3 wickets each.

Pakistan entered to bat with high hopes of equalizing the series but an unusual event occured in the middle when Hafeez was given out for obstructing the field. He changed his direction when Ab de Villiers attempted to ran him out.Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan both had an ordinary series thus far and they both could not contribute much today as both fell for11 and 6 respectively to leave Pakistan at 33/3.

Pakistan were in need of a big partnership at that stage, Misbah and Farhat provided them with one. They both helped Pakistan to hold a firm grip on the match as they both added 153 runs in between them, Misbah played the role of an aggressor whereas Farhat rotated the strike frequently to keep Pakistan in check.

But after that Misbah and Afridi fell in quick succession to give South Africa a slight chance to get back into the game. But Shoaib Malik made sure that Pakistan reach over the line with no more dramas. Misbah was named Man of the match due to his brilliance with the bat.

With  Pakistan’s victory the series is all set for an exciting finish both teams will now head to Benoni to play the decider of the series and the last match of Pakistan’s tour of South Africa on 24th March.

South Africa is leading the ODI series 2-1 and a victory in tomorrows ODI will give them a much needed series win whereas Pakistan will look to win tomorrows game to keep the series alive.

Shahid Afridi will be aiming to complete his 350 ODI wickets in tomorrows game © AFP

MATCH PREVIEW:

Pakistan and South Africa will face each other tomorrow for the fourth time in this ODI series at Durban, South Africa is currently leading the ODI series 2-1, but Pakistan will also be high on hopes as they had many positives to take out from the last game.

South African team will enter in tomorrows ODI without Faf du Plessis who made an impact in the last game with his quickfire 45 which in the end turned out to be a crucial innings in the context of the game. Now South Africa will be aiming to wrap up the series with victory in tomorrows ODI which will also boost their confidence before the Champions Trophy as they lost their last series against New Zealand.

On the other hand Pakistan will be banking on its experience players and they would be pleased with the batting form shown by Shahid Afridi in 1st and 3rd ODI though Shahid Afridi would also like to contribute with his bowling too. Pakistan will be hoping to ruin South Africa’s celebrations of series victory in tomorrows 4th ODI.

THE FAVOURITE:

Pakistan will start as favourites although they lost the last game but the fighting spirit shown by their batters would mean a great deal to them, they will be aiming to equalize the series.

Players to rely on:

Shahid Afridi at the current moment is nearing 400 international sixes, he has currently hit 392 international sixes and the form he has shown with the bat so far in this series leaves a possibility that he will reach 400 mark in this tour, he has also taken 348 wickets in his ODI career and he would like to complete his 350 wickets in this series.

Lowanbo Tsotsobe hasn’t had much success in this series thus far but he would like to change all that in tomorrows ODI, he can be a very handy bowler at times with his slow off cutters.

TEAMS:

Faf du Plessis will miss the remaining 2 ODIs due to his back problem which will mean that Quinton de Kock or David Miller will take his place, Morne Morkel might also play tomorrows ODI.

South Africa (most probable): 1 Graeme Smith 2 Hashim Amla 3 Colin Ingram, 4 AB de Villiers (capt & wk), 5 Quinton de Kock, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Ryan McLaren 8 Robin Peterson 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Rory Kleinveldt, 11 Morne Morkel

For Pakistan, Mohammad Irfan possibly will rest in tomorrows ODI as he was struggling with his fitness in last ODI which will mean that Sohail Tanvir might get a chance also Umar Gul  may also make a comeback in tomorrows ODI.

Pakistan’s (most probable): 1 Nasir Jamshed, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Kamran Akmal (wk), 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Junaid Khan