Pollock took five for 23 as Pakistan were bowled out for 153. A.B. de Villiers and Jacques Kallis hit half-centuries as South Africa cruised to a nine-wicket victory with 21.4 overs to spare. South Africa won the series 3-1, with one match rained off.“We finished on a high note,” said Pollock. “We're going to head off to the World Cup with a lot of confidence.”
Pollock was named Man-of-the-Match and clinched his third Man-of-the-Series award of the South African summer. He took the award for both the Test and one-day series against India earlier in the season.
“I don't take it for granted,” he said. “I'll keep working on my game. All credit to the team. The bowlers have been superb throughout. If we can continue with that and the batting form we've shown it will be great.”
Pollock bowled unchanged with the new ball and took the first five wickets with a superb exhibition of accurate seam and swing bowling.
Pakistan hopes were raised briefly when South African captain Graeme Smith was caught behind off Mohammad Asif for nought.
Asif and Rao Iftikhar bowled well and forced De Villiers and Kallis on to the defensive as the pitch seemed to gain extra life under the floodlights.
But then Kallis hit Iftikhar for six, four and four off successive balls and followed up with two boundaries off the next two deliveries he faced, from Asif in the next over, as South Africa took control.
Both batsmen finished with 71 not out as they put on an unbeaten 155 off 175 balls for the second wicket.
It was the second successive crushing win for South Africa, who won by ten wickets in the fourth match in Cape Town last Sunday.
“The last two games were unbelievable,” said Smith.
“Shaun has led us superbly with the ball and the guys have backed him up in the field.”
Smith said: “Our confidence is high but the guys have worked hard for this victory and our feet are still firmly on the ground.”
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq bemoaned a poor batting performance on a good pitch and admitted there was much to do before the World Cup.
“We've got two weeks. We'll look at our weaknesses and God willing we will play well at the World Cup.”
The result meant South Africa reinforced their ranking as the second-best one-day side in the world behind Australia, with the gap closing following Australia's recent defeat by England in the triangular series in Australia.
It was the last competitive cricket for both teams ahead of next month's World Cup.
Scoreboard
PAKISTAN:
Mohammad Hafeez c Boucher b Pollock 0
Imran Nazir c and b Pollock 22
Younis Khan b Pollock 19
Kamran Akmal c Prince b Langeveldt 22
Mohammad Yousuf lbw b Pollock 5
Inzamam-ul-Haq c Kallis b Pollock 0
Shoaib Malik not out 43
Abdul Razzaq c Boucher b Hall 12
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan c Boucher b Kallis 8
Rao Iftikhar c Boucher b Kallis 4
Mohammad Asif c Boucher b Ntini 5
EXTRAS (LB-4, W-7, NB-2) 13
TOTAL (all out, 40.5 overs) 153
FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-30, 3-53, 4-67, 5-71, 6-83, 7-114, 8-129, 9-135.
BOWLING: Pollock 10-3-23-5; Ntini 7.5-0-31-1 (1w); Hall 6-1-25-1 (2w); Langeveldt 7-0-33-1; Kallis 6-1-19-2; Kemp 4-0-18-0 (3w).
SOUTH AFRICA:
G.C. Smith c Kamran b Asif 0
A.B. de Villiers not out 71
J.H. Kallis not out 71
EXTRAS (LB-3, W-5, NB-6) 14
TOTAL (for one wkt, 28.2 overs) 156
FALL OF WKT: 1-1.
DID NOT BAT: H.H. Gibbs, A.G. Prince, M.V. Boucher, J.M. Kemp, S.M. Pollock, A.J. Hall, C.K. Langeveldt, M. Ntini.
BOWLING: Mohammad Asif 5-0-24-1 (3w); Rao Iftikhar 7-2-26-0; Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 5-0-40-0 (4nb); Abdul Razzaq 5-0-25-0 (2nb); Shoaib Malik 4.2-0-29-0 (2w); Mohammad Hafeez 2-0-9-0.
RESULT: South Africa won by nine wickets.
UMPIRES: R.E. Koertzen (South Africa) and R.B. Tiffin (Zimbabwe).
TV UMPIRE: K.H. Hurter (South Africa).
MATCH REFEREE: B.C. Broad (England).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Shaun Pollock.
MAN-OF-THE-SERIES: Shaun Pollock.
FIRST MATCH: Centurion, South Africa won by 164 runs.
SECOND MATCH: Durban, Pakistan won by 141 runs.
THIRD MATCH: Port Elizabeth, no result.
FOURTH MATCH: Cape Town, South Africa won by 10 wickets.—AFP