CAPE TOWN: Kamran Ghulam’s thrilling half-century followed by Shaheen Shah Afridi’s four-wicket haul led Pakistan to a resounding 81-run victory over South Africa in the second ODI of the three-match series here at Newlands in Thursday.
The victory gave Pakistan an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, with the final ODI scheduled to be played in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Chasing a daunting target of 330 runs, the Proteas’ batting unit soared to a modest 248 despite Heinrich Klaasen’s 97-run knock.
The wicketkeeper-batsman fought a lone battle for the home team with a gutsy 97 off 74 deliveries, combined with eight fours and four sixes.
Apart from him, opening batsman Tony de Zorzi was the other notable runner in the chase with 34 runs down the order.
Shaheen was the Green Shirts’ standout bowler, returning match figures of 4/47, followed by Naseem Shah who took 3/37 in his 8.3 overs. Abrar Ahmed played a supporting role with two scalps.
Put into bat first, the Green Shirts made a dismal start to their innings as their opener Abdullah Shafique died for a two-ball duck in the first over with just five runs on the board.
After the initial hiccup, batsman Babar Azam joined centurion Saim Ayub (25) in the last match for a crucial 48-run partnership, which lasted with the dismissal of the opener in the 10th over.
Babar was then joined by captain Mohammad Rizwan in the middle and together they created a match-defining 115-run partnership for the third wicket that saw both batsmen rack up their half-centuries.
All-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo finally broke the threat in the 33rd over by getting Babar caught at mid-wicket.
The star batsman scored 73 off 95 deliveries with the help of seven fours.
Meanwhile, Rizwan was involved in a brief 24-run partnership with Salman Ali Agha before falling victim to Kwena Maphaka in the 36th over.
The wicketkeeper-batsman remained Pakistan’s top scorer with 82-ball 80s, laced with 10 boundaries, including three sixes.
Coming out to bat at No. 6, Kamran took the reins of Pakistan’s batting expedition with a bang.
The right-handed batsman hit four fours and five sixes on his way to a 32-ball 63.
He was also involved in crucial partnerships with Salman Ali Agha (33), Muhammad Irfan Khan (15) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (16) before being dismissed off the first delivery of the final.
For South Africa, Maphaka led the way with four wickets, followed by Marco Jansen with three, while Bjorn Fortuin and Phehlukwayo contributed a scalp each.
For the unversed, Pakistan lead the three-match series 1-0 thanks to their hard-fought three-wicket win in the opener on Tuesday.
