FAISALABAD: Pakistan sealed a historic One-Day International (ODI) series victory against South Africa on Saturday night, defeating the visitors by seven wickets at the Iqbal Stadium to claim the three-match contest 2-1 — their first-ever home series win over the Proteas.
A vibrant capacity crowd witnessed Pakistan chase down a modest 144-run target, led by a fluent 70-ball 77 from opener Saim Ayub and a composed unbeaten 32 by Mohammad Rizwan. Skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi’s side overhauled the total with nearly 25 overs to spare, following a disciplined bowling performance dominated by leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed, who returned career-best figures of 4-27.
South Africa, opting to bat first, appeared well-placed at 72-0 through openers Quinton de Kock (53) and Lhuan-dre Pretorius (39) before a dramatic collapse saw them bowled out for 143 in 37.5 overs. Pakistan’s spin trio — Abrar, Mohammad Nawaz (2-31) and Salman Ali Agha (2-18) — shared eight wickets between them, triggering a middle-order meltdown that left the visitors reeling.
Salman Ali Agha picks up the first two crucial wickets for Pakistan 🇵🇰
South Africa 98-2 after 23 overs 🏏
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“Credit goes to the players,” Shaheen said at the post-match presentation. “The spinners made it very difficult for them once the ball started gripping.”
De Kock, who was named player-of-the-series, admitted South Africa had fallen short with the bat. “Batting conditions were tough, and we didn’t get enough runs. That allowed them to bat freely,” he said.
In Pakistan’s chase, Babar Azam’s brief but elegant 27 off 25 balls drew loud cheers from home fans before he was run out in the 11th over. His partnership with Saim steadied the innings after Fakhar Zaman was dismissed early by Nandre Burger.
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Saim dominated the innings with 11 boundaries and a six, displaying composure and aggression against both pace and spin. After his dismissal, Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha (unbeaten) ensured there were no late hiccups, with Salman striking the winning boundary.
The victory marked a successful start to Shaheen Afridi’s captaincy tenure and a significant boost for Pakistan ahead of their upcoming limited-overs assignments.
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