Proteas start ODIs by thumping Pakistan

THE start of South Africa’s one-day international series against Pakistan in Bloemfontein yesterday was written up as the return of the big guns.

But Colin Ingram, Ryan McLaren and Rory Kleinveldt stole the thunder of returning giants like Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla.

Warriors stalwart Ingram’s perfectly measured innings of 105 not out took the Proteas to 315/4. Then Kleinveldt claimed a career-best 4/22 and McLaren took 3/19 to dismiss Pakistan for 190 and clinch a 125- run win. That answered some of the questions raised by the poor showing of an inexperienced SA side in a T20 international in Centurion a week ago, which the visitors won by 95 runs.

Unlike SA’s shambolic innings of 100 in that game, support for Ingram was steady throughout his innings yesterday.

The Proteas bowlers, meanwhile, never allowed their opponents to move out of second gear.

The home side were put in to bat, and Smith and Amla gave the home side a solid enough start in their opening stand of 72. Pakistan did their own cause little good by selecting an attack with just two frontline seamers in Junaid Khan and Umar Gul.

But Smith’s innings was snuffed out for 30 when he attempted a reverse swipe off Saeed Ajmal and gloved a catch to the wicketkeeper. Amla, who was in fluid enough form to survive three Chinese cuts, scored 43 off as many balls before hoisting Mohammad Hafeez to deep square leg.

That brought AB de Villiers to the fray to join Ingram, and the runs flowed.

As many as 120 of them off 124 balls for the third wicket. De Villiers looked on course for a century before, on 65, he smashed Ajmal straight to extra cover.

Faf du Plessis’ industrious 26 helped Ingram maintain the momentum – the 40th over bristled with 21 runs, courtesy of three fours by Du Plessis and two by Ingram – before Farhaan Behardien hit 34 not out off 14 balls in an unbroken stand of 50 to push SA past 300.

Pakistan’s reply was a mish-mash of an innings that failed to launch and others that never fired fully. Credit for that must go to an SA attack that, despite being without Dale Steyn and Morné Morkel, proved that they had what it took to keep dangerous batsmen at bay.

Misbah-ul-Haq’s laboured 38 off 44 balls was Pakistan’s top score and there were notable efforts from Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed and Younis Khan.

But it was Shahid Afridi’s 34 that put smiles on the faces of the sizeable Pakistani contingent in the crowd . Playing in his 350th ODI, Afridi faced just 16 balls and hammered two fours and three sixes – which took him past 300 sixes in his career.

The trick for SA now will be to maintain their momentum for the second match of the series in Centurion on Friday. Pakistan’s challenge will be to find a way back by then.