Pakistan vs South Africa: The Story Of The Match

Pakistan beat South Africa by 7 runs at Trent Bridge yesterday, in the first semi-final of the World T20. This is how it happened:

When Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first, the first thing that everyone was interested to see was whether they would keep themselves kicking in the first six overs. They could explode or implode, and even hand the game to South Africa in about 20 minutes. No one was really predicting anything. Wasim Akram kept his faith, everyone else decided to wait and watch.

The Pakistan Innings

Overs 0-6

Steyn started proceedings for South Africa as usual. Kamran Akmal began on the right note for Pakistan though, smashing him for two fours in the first over. However, tables turned in the very next over. Van Der Merwe caught a superb catch running back from mid-on off the bowling of Parnell to dismiss Shahzaib for a duck. Afridi, talisman of both good and bad times, walked out with a clear message, the same as always: hit. Both he and Akmal took the attack to the South Africans, pulling or attempting to pull the persistent short balls without fail. > Parnell’s wicket taking over cost him 14. However, the Proteas had come with a plan and they stuck to it. The plan was to bowl fast and on the body of the Pakistani batsmen. It paid dividends in the 3rd over again, as Akmal skied one off Steyn. South Africa were buoyed now, but Shoaib Malik came out to bat with more sanity on his mind and well-prepared for the fast, short-pitched bowling. Afridi, though, kept chancing his arm and even set up a verbal duel with the hostile Kallis. At 47/2 after 6, though, Pakistan must have felt that they had their noses slightly in front, having survived the fast and hostile onslaught.

Overs 6-15

This was the golden period in the Pakistan innings. They got 73 off these 9 overs, even as the South African spinners had expected to restrict the momentum on a wicket where the ball was holding up and turning. The 11th over, bowled by Botha, was particularly productive, going for 18 runs. Afridi picked him up for three consecutive boundaries over short-extra cover and then a fourth one that came from a cheeky late cut past the wicket keeper.

In the few overs before this both Malik and Afridi had played sensibly, working the ball around and waiting for the right opportunity to come along. Although Afridi got out in the 13th over on the first ball bowled by Duminy, he had got a fifty and the damage was already done to a large extent. Pakistan looked set for anything between 160-175. Younus Khan took no time in getting set and for a brief period of three overs, both he and Shoaib Malik worked the ball around for ones and twos, playing cat and mouse with the field. At 120-3 after 15, Pakistan were just where they would have wanted to be.

Overs 15-20

This is where South Africa finally pulled it back in style. In five superb overs, South Africa gave away only 29 runs, without conceding a single boundary. Strangely though, it was not like Pakistan lost a flurry of wickets – they just lost one. However, it is not often that one gets to see such high quality of death bowling. In four scorching overs, Parnell and Steyn bowled a relentless string of yorkers, leaving the batsmen helpless in their quest to find the boundary. Deceptive changes of pace, to add to this, made an already difficult task seem impossible. Razzaq, who came in after Shoaib was dismissed by Van Der Merwe in the 16th over, and Younus Khan, can both hit big, but starved for any opportunity, they set up a painful partnership, and all that they could manage finally was 149.

South Africa went into their dug outs, happier of the two sides. The momentum rested with them and Pakistan knew that they had finished at least 10-15 runs short of what they were pacing themselves for. A target of 150, however, was more than competitive on this wicket, especially given the turn on offer and the quality of spinners Pakistan had.

The South African Innings

Overs 0-6

The two Pakistan opening bowlers – Razzaq and Mohamad Aamer – were indisciplined to begin with, backed up by some ordinary wicket-keeping and fielding. Akmal let a bye go through under his nose, and Umar Gul made a comic blunder of a skier sent his way at mid-off by Greame Smith. A few excellent strokes by Kallis, who already looked in threatening form, to add to all this took the score to 39-0 after the first five. It was some matter for concern for Younis Khan that South Africa had barely broken sweat in getting there. However, Smith did not look very comfortable, and he stubbornly continued to play needlessly risky shots in the sixth over, bowled by Aamer. After trying unsuccessfully to come down the track, make room and force the ball through the off-side twice over, he finally skied another one off a top edge while trying to play a rash pull. This time, though, there was no mistake, and Aamer took his own catch. South Africa finished the power-plays at 40-1, definitely behind the target they might have set for themselves.

Overs 6-15

This > was where Pakistan won the game, or one could say that the spinners won the game for Pakistan, particularly Afridi. A sublime cover drive for four by Gibbs off the first ball he played was about the only thing that went right for South Africa. Afridi snapped him up in that same over with a top-spinner that the dasher completely mis-judged. Gibbs played for turn that did not exist and got bowled between bat and pad. Worse horrors were to follow soon. Afridi, in his second over, and the 9th of the innings, clean bowled man in form and South Africa’s key player AB deVilliers. AB too did not read it, a googly this time, and seeing his back sent Pakistani fans into a frenzy of celebration. South Africa had lost 13-3 in less than three overs, and talks of choking and collapses had begun doing the rounds.

Kallis and Duminy prevented a collapse, though, but that was all that they achieved in a spell of play that saw them play as helplessly against the spinners as the Pakistanis themselves did against the quicks in the last four overs. Afridi bowled his four spell-binding overs for 16, and Ajmal gave only 23. Between them they picked up three wickets. The 15th over, inexplicably given to Fawad Alam, yielded 15 runs but the South Africans still needed 53 from their last 5.

Overs 15-20

It was never really on the cards as Albie Morkel did not get the chance to come out to bat till the 18th over, when Kallis finally got out for a bravely and well-compiled 64, becoming Ajmal’s first victim in the process. To make matters worse for South Africa, Umar Gul was bowling scorching, reverse swinging yorkers. His two overs in the death sealed the game, and South Africa fell short by 7. Duminy ended unbeaten on 44, but he had hogged too much of the strike unproductively in the last few overs. Perhaps, it might have been better for South Africa had he got out earlier and given Albie Morkel a longer run.

Finally, though, Smith did not have anything to pick on during the post-match wrap up. He rightly admitted that they had been beaten by a better side, which outplayed them with both bat and ball.