JOIN USPakistan pull off edgy victory
Umar Gul had endured a forgettable first-half of Pakistan’s match against South Africa.
His skipper Mohammad Hafeez had kept him off the attack for 17 overs and the paceman had leaked 19 runs in the two overs he got to bowl even as spinners ruled the roost.
However, little did the pace spearhead know that his redemption would come with the bat. The lanky bowler, walking in with Pakistan needing 57 off 33 balls chasing South Africa’s modest 133/6, turned the match on its head with a stunning late assault on the unsuspecting Proteas attack. The right-hander, unleashing one clean hit after another, produced a 17-ball cameo (32, 2x4, 3x6) as Pakistan replied with 136/8 in 19.4 overs here to start their Super Eight campaign on a winning note at the R Premadasa stadium.
While man of the match Gul’s innings was certainly the defining moment of the successful chase, equal credit should go to Umar Akmal who came up with gem of an innings (43 n.o., 41b, 4x4, 1x6), seeing Pakistan safely home. It was also baffling to see South Africa skipper AB de Villiers not to use off-spinning duo of Johan Botha and JP Duminy, who had taken a wicket each while giving little away. His gamble to bowl Albie Morkel in the 17th over proved to be a disaster as the right-arm paceman was carted around for 20 runs, decisively changing the complexion of the chase.
South Africa appeared to be paying Pakistan back in the same coin as they struck in style with their own set of spinners, reducing Pakistan first to 37 for four and then to 76 for seven in 14.3 overs. Just when de Villiers and company seemed to be on path to victory, Gul dashed their hopes with his best T20 knock yet.
The strip here played to true its reputation of aiding spinners. With a veritable mix of slow bowlers in their ranks – two off-spinners, a leg-spinner and a left-armer – Pakistan tied down an explosive South African batting in knots. Such was the impact of this spin quartet that their pace spearhead Gul could bowl only two overs.
Hasan Raza, the left-arm orthodox, proved an inspirational replacement for Sohail Tanvir, opening the innings with a maiden and almost foxing opener Hashim Amla. The 20-year-old was unlucky not to get a wicket in his three frugal overs, but skipper Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal were the beneficiaries of the pressure built by Raza. Though it was right-arm paceman Yasir Arafat who gave the first breakthrough, he soon had to concede ground to his spin mates. While the surface wasn’t exactly conducive for stroke-play, some of the shots played by the South African batsmen bordered on the bizarre; particularly that of Richard Levi who tried to reverse sweep a length delivery from Ajmal and saw the ball sneak between his legs to crash into the stumps.
Jacques Kallis, one of South Africa’s best bets to neutralise the spin threat, fell in a tame fashion, driving Hafeez’s first ball straight to covers where Afridi didn’t have to move an inch to complete simplest of catches. Farhaan Behardien hung around for a while to stem the rot but Hafeez had him stumped to peg back the Africans. Behardien’s dismissal was followed by the best phase of Proteas’ innings. Duminy, around whose 38-ball 48 (2x4, 2x6) South Africa built their total, and skipper de Villiers brought in the much-needed urgency into the innings, raising a 29-ball 44 during which period their total touched the three-figure mark.
Score Board
SOUTH AFRICA
Levi b Ajmal 8
(9b, 1x4)
Amla c Malik b Arafat 6
(6b, 1x4)
Kallis c Afridi b Hafeez 12
(18b, 1x6)
Duminy c Kamran b Arafat 48
(38b, 2x4, 2x6)
Behardien st Kamran b Hafeez 18
(21b, 2x4)
De Villiers c Nazir b Gul 25
(18b, 2x4)
A Morkel (not out) 9
(6b, 1x4)
Peterson (not out) 3
(4b)
Extras (LB-2, W-2) 4
Total (for 6 wkts, 20 overs) 133
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Amla), 2-28 (Levi), 3-28 (Kallis), 4-66 (Behardien), 5-110 (De Villiers), 6-123 (Duminy).
Bowling: Hasan 3-1-12-0, Arafat 3-0-25-2 (w-1), Ajmal 4-1-26-1, Hafeez 4-0-23-2, Afridi 4-0-26-0 (w-1), Gul 2-0-19-1.
Runs during Power Play: 1-6 overs: 28/2.
PAKISTAN
Hafeez st de Villiers b Peterson 15
(9b, 1x4, 1x6)
Nazir c de Villiers b Steyn 14
(11b, 3x4)
Jamshed st de Villiers b Peterson 0
(2b)
Kamran b Botha 1
(6b)
Malik c Steyn b Kallis 12
(26b, 1x4)
Umar (not out) 43
(41b, 4x4, 1x6)
Afridi c A Morkel b Duminy 0
(1b)
Arafat c Duminy b Steyn 3
(5b)
Gul c Peterson b Steyn 32
(17b, 2x4, 3x6)
Ajmal (not out) 4
(1b, 1x4)
Extras (B-2, LB-6, W-3, NB-1) 12
Total (for 8 wkts, 19.4 overs) 136
Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Nazir), 2-30 (Hafeez), 3-31 (Jamshed), 4-37 (Kamran), 5-63 (Malik), 6-63 (Afridi), 7-76 (Arafat), 8-125 (Gul).
Bowling: Steyn 4-0-22-3 (w-2), M Morkel 3.4-0-33-0, Peterson 4-1-15-2, A Morkel 2-0-26-0 (nb-1), Botha 2-1-10-1, Duminy 2-0-5-1, Kallis 2-0-17-1 (w-1).
Runs during Power Play: 1-6 overs: 28/2.