SA vs PAK 2024/25, SA vs PAK 2nd ODI match report, December 19, 2024

Pakistan 329 all out (Rizwan 80, Babar 73, Maphaka 4-72) beaten South Africa 247 all out (Klaasen 97, Shaheen 4-47, Naseem 3-37) by 82 points

Pakistan produced their best overall ODI performance in all three series over the last six weeks, dismantling South Africa by 81 runs and sealing a third consecutive ODI series victory.

South Africa started the chase the same way they did in the first innings in Paarl: with conviction and determination. From the moment the returning Temba Bavuma pushed Afridi off his pads four times off the first ball, South Africa were ready to operate, steadily drilling through the thick infield to find the boundaries they needed to control the requested rate. When Naseem Shah took the lead from the South African captain to draw first blood, Tony de Zorzi and Rassie van der Dussen continued at the same rapid pace, and South Africa had the upper hand in the first numerical advantage.

However, the hosts were beset by clusters of wickets that Pakistan found a knack for thwarting the opposition’s momentum. De Zorzi, van der Dussen and Aiden Markram all fell within 39 points of each other, immediately putting all the pressure on Klaasen to pull off another Houdini act. Alongside David Miller, he appeared to have got South Africa back on track with a partnership combining security and aggression, with the run-a-ball 72 bringing the hosts back into the competition, they added.

But Afridi chose his moment to achieve perhaps his most impressive spell since his career-ending injury two years ago brought a bit of a halt to his career. As the lights took full effect and the fight went on a tightrope, he found it in himself to get closer to the 140 km/h mark, tilting his wrist position to take advantage of the reverse swing that suddenly seemed proposed. He fizzed in front of Miller, cutting him in half – or so we all thought; Afridi was sure he had kissed the inside edge, and when they went upstairs, the technology confirmed it.

But it was Marco Jansen’s dismissal that exhibited the greatest technical purity. Rounding the wicket, he angled towards center stump before appearing to move away, Jansen’s bat being away from him as it crashed into the middle base and away. He was finding his late swing at such a pace that even the umpire had difficulty catching it, and it took another review to establish that Andile Phehlukwayo had been hit on point before the ball reached his bat, and that it was actually upright in front.

All the while, Klaasen was fighting alone and, as became increasingly evident, losing the battle. He was particularly ruthless in removing last match’s hero Salman Agha, relying on the back foot for his trademark hook over the cow corner and effectively using his reach to place the ball in the off-field. game. If anything, he was guilty of not protecting the strike better as he approached his own hundred and, in the end, he ran out of partners when he hit Naseem to mid-wicket in a doomed attempt. failure to reach a hundred which he fully deserved.

Babar scored his maiden half-century in 22 innings, combining with his old friend Rizwan in a third-run partnership of 115 as Pakistan gave South Africa an imposing 330 to chase down. However, that number never looked that high when these two were batting, and only rose thanks to a late, blistering burst from Ghulam, who clubbed 63 off 32 balls. They were helped by Africa of the South which stood out strongly both in its lines and on the ground.

Pakistan’s level of urgency immediately diminished, with Babar and Rizwan opting for the more classic pace that comes so naturally to them. Both were trying to get back into the runs, and with South Africa happy to strangle the score rather than attack the wickets, it appeared for a while that the game was entering a passage of play where each team got what she wanted.

There were still moments of belligerence, like when Rizwan sprawled Markram on the cow corner for six, and Babar milked the spinners for an occasional boundary. But the asking rate regularly fluctuated between 4.75 and 5.1, and it was evident that Pakistan were delaying the innings.

Babar was past 50 and seemed to be closing in on that elusive hundred, but then he slapped Phehlukwayo straight to Markram at midwicket, who almost held on after it thumped him in the chest. Maphaka got rid of Rizwan with a splendid diving return, and South Africa suddenly took the momentum.

But Ghulam put an end to such notions. Alongside Salman, who punished an errant bowler, Ghulam demonstrated his worth as a lower-order power hitter, making splendid use of his lower hand as he smashed five sixes in a whirlwind of strokes. The half-century came in just 25 deliveries, with pace and spin caught to the punch. Irfan Niazi, Shaheen and Haris Rauf were good value for the odd six at the other end, but until he broke through against Maphaka in the final, and the late charge which saw Pakistan score 128 in the last 12 overs was largely due to Ghulam. .

But if it was possible, it was because Pakistan did something that South Africa eluded in all the series. They had gone through an ODI innings while keeping wickets in hand. Klaasen was perhaps just as adept at playing the role of Ghulam when he died, but, as he knelt after Pakistan sealed victory, he simply had no one to play with.