Pakistan finally get better of South Africa

LAHORE: There is no better sight in cricket than to see an express paceman bowling with speed and rhythm to break the back of the opposition's batting line-up. While Waqar Younis baffled the Indians in the previous match of the Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah, it was Shoaib's turn to shatter the confidence of the South Africans in the last league match of the tournament, Tuesday. Within the space of six deliveries, the 'Rawalpindi Express' turned the tables on South Africans who, at 74 for one, were at ease, heading for the meagre victory target of 169.

But that was not to be as Shoaib bowled a triple-wicket maiden in his 4th over to send the Proteas reeling at 74 for four. First ball, he forced an edge off Boucher's bat with a short-pitched delivery for an easy catch to Moin before beating Benkenstein and Lance Klusener with his sheer pace on the fourth and sixth balls, splaying their stumps. Wasim Akram, Abdur Razzaq and Waqar Younis then got enough support from a much improved Pakistan fielding to complete the job. True that South Africa had rested some of their key players in Kallis and Cronje but the way Pakistani pace battery delivered Tuesday it would have been difficult even for the best in the world to stop them going through.

Pakistan's 67-run victory was their first against South Africa in five years. Ever since South Africa won a group match of the 1996 World Cup Pakistan were struggling against them even with their second-string line-ups although some closely fought games were witnessed during the process. Interestingly, it was South Africa's first defeat in nine outings at Sharjah.

While South Africa lost wickets in quick succession after getting a reasonably good start, it was their rising star Herschelle Gibbs who kept his cool to remain unbeaten on 59. The compact right-hander, who seems to be improving with each passing game, has all the strokes in the book and is all set to make his mark as one of the top batters around.

In the storm of this famous victory one major landmark went almost unnoticed, i.e. Waqar Younis' 300 wickets in limited overs cricket. When the celebrated Pakistani speedster trapped McKenzie in front of the stumps he became only the second bowler in the world to reach the 300-wicket mark after Wasim Akram's world record haul of 417. He needed just 186 games to achieve the landmark and his amazing strike rate (a wicket after every five overs) is ample proof of the abilities the champion fast bowler possesses. What makes his recent achievements more incredible is that got rid of top opposition batsmen in almost every match. The way Waqar bowled in the Test series against Sri Lanka and in this tournament so far, one would not be surprised if he becomes the second bowler to reach 400 mark. Keep it up Vicky!

Despite victory, Pakistan must not be complacent with this win as there is still considerable room for improvement ahead of as big a game as the final. While the team is peaking in bowling and fielding departments at the right time, it's their brittle batting which is really a cause of concern for The Management. Openers are continuing with their poor start while Younis Khan still needs to attend some coaching classes to cement his place at the important one-down position. It would not be a bad idea to experiment with Abdur Razzaq for the No 3 slot where he performed creditably during the World Cup. Although Yousuf Youhana has played important innings during the last two matches but he too needs to score on a more regular basis to justify the enormous talent he has.

On the other hand, Cronje's men, with their key players back, would be a totally different outfit in the final. But Pakistanis must believe in themselves and keep in mind that even the best team can have a bad day in the limited-overs version of the game.