Abrar Ahmed’s magic and Saim Ayub’s series of fireworks earn Pakistan victory against South Africa | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed’s magical spell of 4-27 dismantled a fragile South African batting line-up as Pakistan won the three-match ODI series 2-1 with a dominant seven-wicket win in the final match in Faisalabad on Saturday.Go beyond borders with our YouTube channel. REGISTER NOW!Bowling first after South Africa finally won their first toss of the tour, Pakistan bundled out the visitors for just 143 in 37.5 overs, as the Proteas lost their last eight wickets for just 37 runs. Abrar’s career-best numbers came on a slow surface where his variations completely confounded South Africa’s inexperienced batters.Openers Quinton de Kock (53) and Lhuan-dre Pretorius (39) had given South Africa another good start of 72 runs, but once Pretorius was caught behind by Salman Ali Agha, the innings collapsed spectacularly. De Kock, who became the second-fastest South African to reach 7,000 ODI runs after Hashim Amla, was quickly trapped by Mohammad Nawaz as he attempted a difficult sweep – a dismissal that opened the floodgates.
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Abrar ran through the middle order in a fascinating two-man flurry – bowling debutant Rubin Hermann with a googly, then cleaning up Donovan Ferreira and Corbin Bosch with tight turn and low bounce. Nawaz chipped in with 2-31, while Shaheen Shah Afridi polished off the tail with two wickets in two balls.“We were probably looking at 250,” admitted South Africa captain Matthew Breetzke. “It was tough conditions and unfortunately we lost too many wickets there…Abrar bowled very well.”In response, Pakistan reached 144/3 in 25.1 overs, led by a blazing 77 off 70 balls from Saim Ayub, who hit 11 fours and a six. After Fakhar Zaman fell for a duck, Ayub and Babar Azam (27) steadied the chase with a smooth 65-run stand before Mohammad Rizwan (32) finished the job with ease.Captain Shaheen Afridi, leading Pakistan to victory in his first ODI series as skipper, praised his team’s collective effort: “It was teamwork in all formats. The spinners turned the tables and everyone took their chances.”With this victory, Pakistan capped a successful home season – drawing 1-1 and winning the T20I and ODI series against South Africa.
