Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan celebrates after cleaning up South African batsman Aiden Markram.—AP
Their second win of the tournament gives them life with three matches remaining in the battle to finish in the top four in the 10-team group stage.
Bangladesh’s 322-3 against the West Indies was the only successful chase of more than 250 in this World Cup and South Africa never looked like emulating that feat.
Their task was made all the more difficult when veteran Hashim Amla was trapped lbw by Mohammad Amir for two in the second over.
The Proteas managed only 38 from the first 10 overs and as, the pressure mounted, Quinton de Kock fell for 47, caught on the boundary by the diving Imam-ul-Haq for Shadab’s 50th ODI wicket.
On 91-2 in the 20th over and with the required run-rate climbing, South Africa needed a big innings from du Plessis.
Encapsulating a turbulent World Cup for the skipper and his team, the skipper could not get the job done in their hour of need.
He perished for 63 when a mistimed swipe against Amir ballooned high in the air for Sarfraz to take a simple catch.
Rassie van der Dussen went in similar fashion, skying Shadab to give Mohammed Hafeez a catch that pushed South Africa towards the exit.
Haris’s dashing display had set the tone for a dispiriting day for South Africa.
The 30-year-old, dropped following Pakistan’s opener against the West Indies, made up for lost time as he demolished South Africa’s beleaguered bowlers.
Hitting nine fours and three sixes in his ruthless blitz, man-of-the-match Haris gave Pakistan a shot of adrenaline after Babar Azam’s more sedate 69 laid the foundations for victory.
Scoreboard
PAKISTAN:
Batsmen & mode of dismissals R B 4s 6s SR
Imam-ul-Haq c and b Imran 44 58 6 0 75.86
Fakhar Zaman c Amla b Imran 44 50 6 1 88.00
Babar Azam c Ngidi b Phehlukwayo 69 80 7 0 86.25
Mohammad Hafeez lbw b Markram 20 33 0 1 60.60
Haris Sohail c de Kock b Ngidi 89 59 9 3 150.84
Imad Wasim c sub b Ngidi 23 15 3 0 153.33
Wahab Riaz b Ngidi 4 4 0 0 100.00
Sarfraz Ahmed not out 2 2 0 0 100.00
Shadab Khan not out 1 1 0 0 100.00
EXTRAS (LB-5, W-5, NB-1) 12 - - - --
TOTAL (for seven wkts, 50 overs) 308 - - - --
FALL OF WKTS: 1-81 (Fakhar, 14.5 ov), 2-98 (Imam, 20.3 ov), 3-143 (Hafeez, 29.6 ov), 4-224 (Babar, 41.2 ov), 5-295 (Imad, 47.6 ov), 6-304 (Wahab, 49.1 ov), 7-307 (Haris, 49.5 ov).
DID NOT BAT: Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi.
BOWLING: Rabada 10-0-65-0 (1w); Ngidi 9-0-64-3; Morris 9-0-61-0; Phehlukwayo 8-0-49-1 (1nb, 2w); Imran Tahir 10-0-41-2 (1w); Markram 4-0-22-1 (1w).
SOUTH AFRICA:
Batsmen & mode of dismissals R B 4s 6s SR
H.M. Amla lbw b Amir 2 3 0 0 66.66
Q. de Kock c Imam b Shadab 47 60 3 2 78.33
F. du Plessis c Sarfraz b Amir 63 79 5 0 79.74
A.K. Markram b Shadab 7 16 0 0 43.75
H.E. van der Dussen c Hafeez b Shadab 36 47 1 1 76.59
D.A. Miller c Shaheen 31 37 3 0 83.78
A.L. Phehlukwayo not out 46 32 6 0 143.75
C.H. Morris b Wahab 16 10 1 1 160.00
K. Rabada b Wahab 3 7 0 0 42.85
L. Ngidi b Wahab 1 6 0 0 16.66
Imran Tahir not out 1 3 0 0 33.33
EXTRAS (LB-1, W-5) 6 - - - --
TOTAL (for nine wkts, 50 overs) 259 - - - --
FALL OF WKTS: 1-8 (Amla, 1.1 ov), 2-91 (de Kock, 19.2 ov), 3-103 (Markram, 23.1 ov), 4-136 (du Plessis, 29.3 ov), 5-189 (van der Dussen, 39.4 ov), 6-192 (Miller, 40.5 ov), 7-222 (Morris, 44.2 ov), 8-239 (Rabada, 46.5 ov), 9-246 (Ngidi, 48.2 ov).
BOWLING: Mohammad Hafeez 2-0-11-0 (1w); Mohammad Amir 10-1-49-2 (1w); Shaheen Shah Afridi 8-0-54-1; Imad Wasim 10-0-48-0; Wahab Riaz 10-0-46-3 (2w); Shadab Khan 10-1-50-3 (1w).
RESULT: Pakistan won by 49 runs.
UMPIRES: H.D.P.K. Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and J.S. Wilson (West Indies).
TV UMPIRE: C.B. Gaffaney (New Zealand).
MATCH REFEREE: R.S. Madugalle (Sri Lanka).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Haris Sohail.
STANDINGS
(Tabulated under played, won, lost, no-result, points, net run-rate):
New Zealand 6 5 0 1 11 +1.306
Australia 6 5 1 0 10 +0.849
India 5 4 0 1 9 +0.809
England 6 4 2 0 8 +1.457
Sri Lanka 6 2 2 2 6 -1.119
Bangladesh 6 2 3 1 5 -0.407
Pakistan 6 2 3 1 5 -1.265
West Indies 6 1 4 1 3 +0.19
South Africa 7 1 5 1 3 -0.324
Afghanistan 6 0 6 0 0 -1.712
Updated after Pakistan vs South Africa match on Sunday
Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2019