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Shadab Khan produced a brilliant all-round show to help Pakistan stay in the semi-final race as they defeated South Africa by 33 runs in a rain-affected Group 2 match of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday.
After electing to bat first, Pakistan made 185/9 in 20 overs and restricted South Africa to 108/9 in 14 overs to secure a 33-run win as the Proteas needed 141 runs from 14 overs by the DLS method. With this victory, Pakistan is now in third place in the Group 2 points table with four points from as many games. This was also Pakistan’s fourth victory in as many games against South Africa in the history of the Men’s T20 World Cups.
Pakistan keep semi-final hopes alive, clinching a win in the Group 2 clash against South Africa 🌟#T20WorldCup | #PAKvSA | 📝: https://t.co/3VVq7VAJLt pic.twitter.com/hfsNzCivam
— ICC (@ICC) November 3, 2022
On a cold evening, South African pace bowlers made some early strikes as wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan dragged the ball on his stumps on 4 runs off 4 balls in the first over of the match by left-arm pacer Wayne Parnell.
21-year-old right-handed batter Mohammad Haris, who came in as a replacement for Fakhar Zaman, played some brilliant attacking shots for his entertaining 28 off 11 balls with two fours and three sixes at a strike-rate of 254.55 before being trapped lbw by Anrich Nortje.
In the very next over, Lungi Ngidi dismissed Pakistan captain Babar Azam who struggled for his 6 off 15 balls as Pakistan were three down within the powerplay. Shan Masood then followed him on 2 off 6 balls as he gave a simple catch to the mid-off fielder after being deceived by a slower ball from Nortje as Pakistan were in trouble at 43/4 in 6.3 overs.
However, Iftikhar Ahmed stepped up once again to rescue his team from a difficult position as he added a 52-run stand off 39 balls with Mohammad Nawaz (28 off 22 balls) and then built a crucial 82-run stand off just 35 balls for the sixth wicket with Shadab Khan.
Iftikhar scored 51 from 35 deliveries, hitting three fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 145.71, while vice-captain Shadab Khan scored 52 off 22 balls with three fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 236.36. Shadab’s knock was the second-fastest fifty for Pakistan in T20Is and proved to be a game-changer as Pakistan reached a strong total of 185/9 in 20 overs, which looked out of reach at one point.
They were also helped by some poor fielding performance from South Africa, as they dropped five catches apart from several fumbles on a wet outfield.
In reply, left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was back in his rhythm as he dismissed Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw cheaply in the first three overs. However, captain Temba Bavuma showed that he was back in form as he scored an attacking 36 off 19 balls, hitting four fours and one six before being caught behind off a classical leg spin delivery by Shadab.
Shadab sent back Bavuma on the first ball off his first over. In the same over, he then bowled Aiden Markram on 20 off 14 balls to get his second wicket. South Africa were 69/4 in 9 overs and was 15 runs behind the DLS par score when rain interrupted the play.
When play resumed after an hour of rain interruption, the match was reduced to 14 overs as South Africa needed a new adjusted target of 142 in 14 overs as per the DLS method.
Tristan Stubbs and Heinrich Klaasen showed some fight in the end and added a 28-run partnership off 20 balls. However, South Africa lost wickets in the end as Pakistan won the match by 33 runs on the DLS method to stay alive in the race for the semi-finals.
The pick of the bowlers for Pakistan was Shaheen who took 3/14 from his three overs while leg-spin all-rounder Shadab ended with 2/16 from his two overs.
Pakistan now needs to win their next match against Bangladesh at Adelaide on Sunday and then hope that either India or South Africa lose their final Group 2 matches against Zimbabwe and Netherlands respectively.
On the other hand, South Africa now needs to beat the Netherlands at Adelaide on Sunday, with their match happening before the Pakistan-Bangladesh clash on the same day to qualify for the semi-final.
Pakistan vice-captain Shadab Khan was awarded Player of the Match for his all-round performance of 52 (22) and 2/16 from his two overs.
Brief scores: Pakistan 185/9 in 20 overs (Shadab Khan 52, Iftikhar Ahmed 51; Anrich Nortje 4/41, Wayne Parnell 1/31) beat South Africa 108/9 in 14 overs (Temba Bavuma 36, Aiden Markram 20; Shaheen Shah Afridi 3/14, Shadab Khan 2/16) by 33 runs (via DLS method)
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