South Africa v Pakistan, 2013-14
Wisden's review of the second ODI, South Africa v Pakistan, 2013-14
01-Mar-2015
At Port Elizabeth, November 27, 2013. Pakistan won by one run. Toss: South Africa.
South Africa added a new chapter to their history of choking to hand Pakistan the series. With two overs remaining, they needed 11 to win with six wickets in hand, one of which was Amla, who had purred into the nineties - but somehow they contrived to lose by a single run. They had struggled in the first half of their chase of 263, in a match reduced by rain to 45 overs, but de Villiers produced a riveting display of power and ingenuity. Only 36 were needed from 38 deliveries when he paddleswept a low full toss to deep backward square leg after sprinting to 74 from 45 balls. Still, the game seemed won. But Saeed Ajmal conceded just two runs from the penultimate over: Duminy swung and missed, and Amla also did so twice, before holing out to deep square off the last ball. Junaid Khan then defended nine runs in the final over, helped by a tremendous low catch at deep midwicket by the substitute Umar Amin to remove Duminy. Earlier, Ahmed Shehzad had produced a perfectly paced century - his third in one-day internationals. But Pakistan were restricted by a classic display of fast bowling from Steyn, whose career-best one-day figures included four men caught in the cordon. Anwar Ali was given out obstructing the field - the fifth instance in one-day internationals, but the fourth from Pakistan - after changing direction while running. The umpires viewed this as a deliberate attempt to get in the way of wicketkeeper de Kock's throw, which hit Anwar on the shoulder as he attempted a bye.
Man of the Match: Ahmed Shehzad.
South Africa added a new chapter to their history of choking to hand Pakistan the series. With two overs remaining, they needed 11 to win with six wickets in hand, one of which was Amla, who had purred into the nineties - but somehow they contrived to lose by a single run. They had struggled in the first half of their chase of 263, in a match reduced by rain to 45 overs, but de Villiers produced a riveting display of power and ingenuity. Only 36 were needed from 38 deliveries when he paddleswept a low full toss to deep backward square leg after sprinting to 74 from 45 balls. Still, the game seemed won. But Saeed Ajmal conceded just two runs from the penultimate over: Duminy swung and missed, and Amla also did so twice, before holing out to deep square off the last ball. Junaid Khan then defended nine runs in the final over, helped by a tremendous low catch at deep midwicket by the substitute Umar Amin to remove Duminy. Earlier, Ahmed Shehzad had produced a perfectly paced century - his third in one-day internationals. But Pakistan were restricted by a classic display of fast bowling from Steyn, whose career-best one-day figures included four men caught in the cordon. Anwar Ali was given out obstructing the field - the fifth instance in one-day internationals, but the fourth from Pakistan - after changing direction while running. The umpires viewed this as a deliberate attempt to get in the way of wicketkeeper de Kock's throw, which hit Anwar on the shoulder as he attempted a bye.
Man of the Match: Ahmed Shehzad.