Pakistan’s emerging spinner Sufiyan Muqeem made a notable impact in the third and final ODI against South Africa in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Making his ODI debut on Sunday, the left-arm spinner registered impressive figures of 4/52, placing him among the top spinners with the best bowling figures on debut for Pakistan.
Sufiyan became the fourth Pakistan spinner to achieve this feat, joining an elite list:
- Abdul Qadir: 04/21 v New Zealand, 1983
- Abrar Ahmed: 04/33 x Zimbabwe, 2024
- Sufiyan Muqeem: 4/52 x South Africa, 2024
- Faisal Akram: 03/24 x Zimbabwe, 2024
Furthermore, two Pakistan pacers also hold this honor:
- Zakir Khan: 19/04 v New Zealand, 1984
- Sarfaraz Nawaz: 4/46 vs New Zealand, 1973
In the third and final ODI, Pakistan posted a formidable 308/9 thanks to a scintillating century from Saim Ayub, who scored 101 off 94 balls.
Contributions from captain Babar Azam (52), Mohammad Rizwan (53) and Agha Salman (48) further bolstered the total.
South Africa’s chase was led by Heinrich Klaasen’s explosive 43-ball 81 and Corbin Bosch’s fighting 40.
However, Pakistan’s bowling unit proved to be too strong, dismissing the hosts for 271 in 42 overs.
Sufiyan Muqeem led the attack, claiming four key wickets.
Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah bagged two wickets each, while Mohammad Hasnain and Saim Ayub contributed one each.
With this 36-run victory, Pakistan created history by becoming the first team to whitewash South Africa in a bilateral ODI series at home.
It also marked another milestone for captain Mohammad Rizwan as he secured his third consecutive ODI series win.
His reign as captain began with a historic 2-1 victory against Australia earlier this year – the first on Australian soil since 2002 – followed by a 2-1 victory over Zimbabwe earlier this month.
