Pakistan put their miserable hammering by arch-rivals India behind them with a shock 19-run win via D/L method over South Africa at Edgbaston on Wednesday that kept their Champions Trophy semifinal hopes alive.
Just three days after suffering a humiliating 124-run defeat by title-holders India at Edgbaston in their opening group match, with former skipper Shahid Afridi among those slamming a "clueless" display, Pakistan's return to the Birmingham ground saw them make a mockery of the rankings which had them bottom and South Africa top.
Having conceded 319 for three against title-holders India, Pakistan restricted South Africa to 219 for eight after losing the toss.
After the spinners did the initial damage, paceman Hasan Ali took three for 24 in eight overs.
David Miller's unbeaten 75 kept the Proteas in the game.
And when fast bowler Morne Morkel took two wickets in three balls, Pakistan were faltering at 41 for two under the floodlights in the day/night fixture.
But Babar Azam (31 not out) and Shoaib Malik (16 not out) took Pakistan to 119/3 off 27 overs when heavy rain stopped play at 7:41 pm local time.
That left them well ahead of their target score of 101 so that when the umpires finally decided more than two hours later that a resumption was impossible, Pakistan had beaten South Africa under the Duckworth/Lewis method.
It left Group B wide open, with three teams on a win apiece. "It's a very important win for us," said Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed. "We were good in all departments today.”
