WEB DESK: Pakistan defeated South Africa by 81 runs in the second match of the three-match ODI series on Thursday, securing an unassailable 2-0 lead and winning the series. Kamran Ghulam was named the Player of the Match for his explosive performance.
With this victory, Pakistan became the first team in the 21st century to win three ODI series in South Africa, marking a historic achievement for the national team.
Temba Bavuma, the South African captain won the toss and chose to field; thus, Pakistan batted first and scored a total of 329 in the allotted 49.5 overs before getting bowled out.
Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Mohsin Naqvi, tweeted on X, congratulating the national cricket team on their victory in the second ODI and series against South Africa. He praised the team’s outstanding performance, particularly their remarkable achievement of defeating South Africa on their home ground.
First Innings
The top order of Pakistan did pretty well as Babar Azam scored 73 runs while Captain Mohammad Rizwan scored 80 runs. Saeem Ayub continued with 25 runs and the opening batsman, Abdullah Shafique, went for a duck. Salman Ali Agha scored 33 before the last order fell apart.
Thanks to Kamran Ghulam and his explosive 63 runs off 32 balls including 5 sixes, that has taken Pakistan to a challenging position in the game. Scores of Irfan Khan, Shaheen Afridi, and Haris Rauf read 15, 16, and 6 runs, respectively.
For the South Africans: Marco Jansen with three wickets and Migael Pretorius with four wickets.
Second Innings
South Africa came in chase of 329 runs, Henrich Klaasen, gave his all effort in scoring 97 runs from 74 balls, where he blasted 4 sixes and 8 fours. Among the other top scorers included Tony de Zorzi (34), David Miller (29), Rassie van der Dussen (23), Aiden Markram (21), and Temba Bavuma (12), but none were able to check the damage done by the opposition.
Pakistan’s bowling attack was led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, who took 4 wickets for 47 runs in 8 overs. Naseem Shah took 3 wickets, while Abrar Ahmed took 2 wickets, and Salman Ali Agha added to his tally with 1 wicket.
