ICC World Twenty20 - South Africa's performance - An Overview - Part III
Continued from Part II .....
Both JP Duminy and F Behardien, while batting tentatively against a flamboyant Pakistani offensive managed to steer the side to 66 runs before Pakistan skipper, Mohammad Hafeez, crashed the party by having Behardien caught behind on 18.
However, this was not the end for the Proteas, as it was time for AB de Villiers and Duminy to forge a resounding partnership, taking the score to 110. This partnership ruined Pakistan’s plans of ending the game sooner than expected.
Nonetheless, with the South African skipper gone for 25, Pakistan tightened the screws around their opponents. The side hit jackpot when with 123, they managed to remove Duminy for 48.
With the middle-order batsman out of action, Pakistan restricted South Africa on a modest tally of 133 for six in 20 overs.
The target was easy, but with Pakistan’s fragile batting line-up, South Africa were always in for a surprising win.
Pakistan started with some aggression but then with 24 on the board, lost Imran Nazir for 14.
In the next over, skipper Mohammad Hafeez also suffered a similar fate as he was removed by Peterson after hammering 15 runs.
Nasir Jamshed, then trying to play a reckless shot, came out of the crease enough to be stumped for nil.
With 37 on the board, Kamran Akmal (1) was next to lose his wicket, unleashing gates of h**l upon his team. Now the run chase that was just a walk in the park seemed like a jog through the Sahara desert.
Seasoned all-rounder, Shoaib Malik then forged a defensive stance alongside Umar Akmal, and with the two batsmen in the middle, Pakistan had some hope but with the asking rate climbing after each delivery the hope was also gradually fading away.
During this course of time, there wasn’t a single moment when it seemed as if South Africa had lost their control on the situation.
With 63 runs on the board, Malik was removed after hitting 12 runs. Shahid Afridi was easily neutralized by the Proteas and with him gone; South Africa knew Pakistan’s chances of bolstering a smashing comeback had also been trashed out of the window.
Yasir Arafat after scoring just three runs was removed by Steyn. With Pakistan on the edge, the South Africans were thinking of an early end to a hectic day.
However, it was Umar Gul’s day to be a ‘gulldozer’ as he – out of nowhere – jabbed a belligerent knock of 32 off 17 to get Pakistan right back in the game and although he couldn’t stay till the end, he left the match in the hands of the young Akmal.
This was the moment when South Africa choked as they failed to contain the Pakistanis and knowing Akmal who has a habit of losing his wicket on awkward instances, the Proteas failed to exploit his weakness.
Pakistan, with a brave knock of 43 from Akmal reached the target in the final over, securing a fantastic victory.
A major error was made by de Villiers on this night as he should have called in spinners in the last two overs to restrict Pakistan from hitting crucial boundaries.
To be continued ........
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