Pakistan yesterday kept alive their slim hopes of reaching the T20 World Cup semi-finals with a 33-run victory over South Africa in a rain-shortened Super 12 match, bringing the tournament’s only unbeaten record to an end in the process.
On the ropes at 43-4 early in their innings, Pakistan rallied behind spectacular half-centuries from Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan to post 185-9 and delight the lively crowd of 30,000 roaring them on at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
South Africa would still have fancied their chances, but Shaheen Afridi (3-14) claimed two early wickets, and Shadab removed Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram, who had built a promising third-wicket partnership of 49, in quick order.
Photo: AFP
The skies opened soon afterward with South Africa on 69-4 after nine overs and an hour later they resumed with a revised target of 142 from five more overs under the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method only to fall well short at 108-9.
The Proteas remained in second place behind India in Group 2 despite the loss and would secure one of the two semi-final spots if they beat the Netherlands in their final Super 12 match on Sunday.
To have any chance of progressing, Pakistan must beat Bangladesh in Sunday’s second match at the Adelaide Oval and hope that the Netherlands have staged an upset or Zimbabwe stunned India in the final group match in Melbourne.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the last four were already hanging by a thread coming into the match and they looked over when top-order batsmen Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam and Shan Masood departed without scoring many runs.
However, Mohammad Haris, thrown straight into the fray after coming into the squad as an injury replacement for Fakhar Zaman, showed his teammates the way with a blistering 28 off 11 deliveries that started with two sixes and a four.
Iftikhar, who hit 51, and Shadab, who clubbed 52 off 22 balls, followed his lead with a partnership of 82 for the sixth wicket to transform the innings, which ended with a rain shower, a few boundaries and a flurry of wickets.
While Pakistan skipper Azam’s miserable tournament continued with 6 runs that left his tally at 14 from four innings, his South Africa counterpart Bavuma shrugged off the early loss of opening partner Quinton de Kock for a duck.
Bavuma, whose previous three innings at the tournament had earned him 14 runs, hit a dogged 36 before being caught behind off Shadab’s first delivery.
Markram was bowled for 20 two balls later and although Heinrich Klaasen (15) and Tristan Stubbs (18) added some impetus, after the rain break seamers Afridi, Mohammad Wasim and Naseem Shah shackled South Africa’s batsmen while chipping away with regular wickets.
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