Salman Mirza, Player of the Match: Our plans were very simple -- to bowl within the stumps. We knew the ball was holding up, so we relied on variations. The earlier you assess the conditions, the higher your chances are of getting results in your favor. It feels good to make an impact and contribute to the team. The slower one that held up and turned slightly to dismiss Matthew was my favorite wicket.
Donovan Ferreira, South Africa Captain: Obviously, we didn't bat well and didn't give much for our bowlers to defend. There isn't much time to reflect which helps that there's not much time to think and analyze. The wicket got a lot better with the dew settling. From a cricketing point of view, you just have to move on.
Salman Ali Agha, Pakistan Captain: They outplayed us in the previous game, and we did that today. It's beautifully set up now, and hopefully, we'll have a cracker in the final. We bowled really well up front, when you bowl that well early on, you're always going to win the game. Salman [Mirza] is working very hard and learning new things every day. He started as a backup option but he's becoming a frontline bowler now. Naseem bowled really well, and I'm very happy for him. Saim is someone who can play for the next ten years and become the player we all want him to be
Pakistan outplayed South Africa in all departments of the game and didn't put a foot wrong tonight. The bowlers set it up for the Green Shirts as Mirza seized the opportunity with both hands and didn't allow the Proteas to recover from that early, high-intensity jolt. Visitors were playing catch-up from there, and the rest of the seamers as well as the spinners held their end of the bargain, not allowing them to make a comeback and bowling with discipline. Saim Ayub returned to form and played some truly captivating shots, including those no-look strokes and emphatic hits down the ground. All very nicely set up for the series decider tomorrow. That's it for this game, it's goodbye from all of us!