Pakistan body language holds clue to win

The wicketkeeper, Sarfraz Ahmed, covered his mouth in despair. The bowler, Sohail Khan, turned and walked quickly back to his mark. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq looked away, not wanting to see the ball run to the boundary, having been edged through a region where a diving first or second slip could have pouched it. It's not hard to imagine what he might have been thinking: what if there were a slip in place? Is AB de Villiers going to pull off another miracle? Are Pakistan going to muck up a game that was theirs just an hour previously?

The next delivery everything turned to delirious joy; the captain ran roaring towards his team, arms aloft, fists pumping. De Villiers had feathered the ball behind, and after a sharp bowling performance Pakistan were about to register their first victory against a top-eight team in the tournament.

There was something very different about this Pakistan team in the field and in their body language; very different from their earlier limp displays that had brought the critics of both the team and, more specifically, Misbah out in droves. De Villiers himself felt it. "I felt Pakistan wanted it more than us," he said after the match. Coach Waqar Younis agreed the team played this game with more purpose, putting them on the "right path" in what is a long tournament, thus allowing them a chance to build momentum after a slow start.

"We've started finding the right combination, people have started believing in themselves, players have started trusting their abilities," Waqar said. "This is key."

While "thrilled" with this result, Waqar said he knew the job was not done. However, like the rest of the side, he said he was looking forward to scrapping it out - much like the Pakistan team that claimed this same prize in this part of the world 23 years ago after a wobbly start, having won just one out of their first five group games.

"Look, I think we still need to win the last game to get to the quarter-finals, but yeah, we've started playing good cricket, some aggressive cricket, which I think Pakistan cricket was known for in the past.

"In 1992 Pakistan handled the pressure really well. They lost the early games, they came back strong, they had the belief, Imran Khan had serious belief. I hope that belief is coming into our dressing room."

Waqar had spoken earlier, too, about the importance of building confidence by beating a top team. Then, he had said he was happy to get points on the board by beating a lower-ranked team, but it was the big guns the team really needed to take down to start firing.

The truth in those words became clear as Pakistan's bowlers, through various combinations of pace, accuracy, street-smarts and movement, nipped out South Africa's top order. The excitement built as they got rid of Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla, and when Rilee Rossouw hoicked one straight to Sohail at fine leg, Pakistan looked more intense than they have in a long time. After the ecstatic Wahab Riaz stopped sprinting, backs were slapped and grins mellowed, even the usually dead-pan Misbah showed renewed energy during the quick word he had with his boys before they dispersed, as glimpsed on Eden Park's giant screen.

It is this kind of attitude that the team needs, Waqar said. "If you look around, the entire tournament, teams which are playing aggressively have been more successful. I think what we did in this game was very similar, and hopefully we'll carry on with this."

That extra bit of aggression and urgency was also on show between overs 11 and 20 in Pakistan's innings, when four overs were shared between de Villiers and JP Duminy, who finished with combined figures of 9-0-77-1. The four overs in that period brought them 43 runs. Taking advantage of the part-timers in that way, Waqar said, was always the plan. "Batting, at the top I think we played with purpose, we played with aggression, we made use of their fifth bowler. We always knew that they are weak when it comes to their fifth bowler, so we made good use of it. The plans did work."

Things were not as rosy all through their innings, though. At the death, Pakistan slipped from 212 for 5 to 222 all out. That was a bit deflating, Waqar admitted, and made it all the more imperative that their bowlers started as well as they did. "I think we bowled extremely well. I think we were right on top of the game, we bowled with some real pace and some real purpose.

"Yes, it was not the best end to the innings, where we finished, but we needed a good start with the ball and that's what Irfan provided. We knew that we had to get them out to win this game."

And bowl them out they did. The moment last man Imran Tahir edged behind to give wicketkeeper Sarfraz a world-record sixth catch, Wahab's trademark celebratory run commenced in the direction of the dressing rooms. By the time he reached the 30-yard circle, his team-mates caught up and encapsulated him in a massive, boisterous group hug. The large gathering of Pakistan fans in the stands off to their left jumped along with their team. One last time tonight, the confidence and aggression that Waqar wants so dearly for his team were there for all to see.