AB DE Villiers continued his dominance of Pakistan’s bowlers to lead South Africa to victory in the one-day series that ended in Benoni yesterday.
The crash of wickets sucked most of the momentum from the innings.
Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan shared 66 for the third wicket before Malik and Misbah put on 47 for the fifth.
For the rest, loose strokes and inconsistent bounce in the pitch stopped the runs from flowing.
The chief beneficiary was Ryan McLaren, who took 3/2 in 11 deliveries on his way to final figures of 3/32.
Morné Morkel, playing just his second match since injuring a hamstring five weeks ago, found booming bounce to take 2/33 and overcame the no-ball and five wides he bowled.
Dale Steyn also exploited the bounce well and added a dash of aggression for his return of 1/33.
But the most threatening bowler on the day was Mohammad Irfan, the tall Pakistan bowler, who made the new ball whistle past the noses of the SA batsmen consistently.
With Junaid Khan swinging it appreciably from the other end of the ground, Pakistan would have rued their inability to score more runs.
They reduced the Proteas to 34/2, removing Quinton de Kock and Colin Ingram cheaply, before De Villiers joined Hashim Amla to steady the innings with a stand of 49.
The partnership should have been snuffed out when De Villiers was dropped by Younis Khan at slip off Junaid with the fourth ball he faced.
An out-of-sorts Amla struggled throughout his 22 off 65 balls, and South Africa’s chase gained momentum only after he was dismissed in the 23rd over.
The industrious Farhaan Behardien saw to that in a stand that swelled to 87 off 88 balls before he was caught in the deep for 35.
That left SA to score 36 more runs to win, which David Miller helped De Villiers add without further drama. Miller finished on 20 not out.
AB leads SA charge to wrap up series
The crash of wickets sucked most of the momentum from the innings.
Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan shared 66 for the third wicket before Malik and Misbah put on 47 for the fifth.
For the rest, loose strokes and inconsistent bounce in the pitch stopped the runs from flowing.
The chief beneficiary was Ryan McLaren, who took 3/2 in 11 deliveries on his way to final figures of 3/32.
Morné Morkel, playing just his second match since injuring a hamstring five weeks ago, found booming bounce to take 2/33 and overcame the no-ball and five wides he bowled.
Dale Steyn also exploited the bounce well and added a dash of aggression for his return of 1/33.
But the most threatening bowler on the day was Mohammad Irfan, the tall Pakistan bowler, who made the new ball whistle past the noses of the SA batsmen consistently.
With Junaid Khan swinging it appreciably from the other end of the ground, Pakistan would have rued their inability to score more runs.
They reduced the Proteas to 34/2, removing Quinton de Kock and Colin Ingram cheaply, before De Villiers joined Hashim Amla to steady the innings with a stand of 49.
The partnership should have been snuffed out when De Villiers was dropped by Younis Khan at slip off Junaid with the fourth ball he faced.
An out-of-sorts Amla struggled throughout his 22 off 65 balls, and South Africa’s chase gained momentum only after he was dismissed in the 23rd over.
The industrious Farhaan Behardien saw to that in a stand that swelled to 87 off 88 balls before he was caught in the deep for 35.
That left SA to score 36 more runs to win, which David Miller helped De Villiers add without further drama. Miller finished on 20 not out.
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