SA vs PAK | Takeaways – Shadab Khan’s magic and South Africa’s vulnerable batting display

06/23/2019

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Pakistan registered a crucial win against South Africa to keep their hopes of making it to the semifinals alive. After an impactful performance with the bat, their bowlers did well to strike regularly and keep the South African batsmen under check to win the game by a massive margin of 49 runs.

Haris Sohail should get a longer rope in the tournament

Malik’s parched runs column was hampering Pakistan’s progress in the middle-order and was eventually replaced by Haris Sohail. Malik carries an ample amount of experience under his belt and was expected to do a much better job than what he eventually did. Coming to this game the pressure was on the southpaw and had to fire in order to justify his selection in the playing XI.

He walked in when Pakistan was placed in a very delicate situation – another wicket would have put them in all sorts of trouble while a quiet partnership would have had the same effect on South Africa. Harris got the ball rolling from the outset and not only negotiated the attack but also got runs at a brisk pace. He provided the much-needed impetus to Pakistan’s innings and helped them cross the 300-run mark with ease. Sohail didn’t shy away from playing his strokes and made batting look very easy. His innings gave an impression that he was batting on a different surface altogether.

Pakistan was missing some kind of fire in the middle and Harris has rightly provided that extra spice. Pakistan cannot afford to put a step wrong in the games to come and are still alive in the race of making it to the semi-finals. Safe to say, Harris’ knock should secure him a spot for the next two games and rightly so as his presence only adds strength to the batting order. His one failure against West Indies cost him his place but one cannot ignore the fact that the whole batting crumbled in that encounter and he should have been given a longer rope.

Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis need to go big for South Africa to win

Despite a poor run against India, Pakistan were always going to be the favourites against a languishing South Africa. Though both the teams have shared similar fortunes, Pakistan’s batting was still on the heavier side and justified the belief by posting a target off over 300.

It was quite obvious that Quinton de Kock or Faf du Plessis had to go big for South Africa to chase down this total. Though few players have shown immense promise, they don’t have enough firepower in their batting. Rassie van der Dussen has been impressive but is yet to get those daddy hundreds, which du Plessis or de kock is quite capable of getting.

More importantly, they are flair players while others a slightly accumulative. De Kock got a gritty 47 while du Plessis scored 63, but South Africa needed either of them to go big, which would have certainly built a solid platform for the rest, especially considering Hashim Amla not being in the kind of form he used to be.

South Africa’s World Cup campaign, for now, is done and dusted but ending on a winning note will only help them build from here on. And for that to happen the veterans in the side will have to step up and take charge.

Shadab Khan slowly growing in confidence

Pakistan have a huge reputation of producing quality spinners and Shadab Khan is a latest addition to the list. The wily leg-spinner is slowly growing into confidence and has shouldered the responsibility of being the primary Pakistani spinner with perfection.

He bagged three wickets in this encounter and nullified the threat South African batsmen posed in the middle. Sarfaraz had so much faith in him that he didn’t shy away from throwing the ball at him in the death overs, which is a rare scenario for a spinner.

When de Kock looked to shift gears, Shadab Khan broke the spine not only with the southpaw’s wicket but also got rid of Aiden Markram in no time. There was a partnership building between van der Dussen and David Miller but Shadab once again tamed it. His googlies were difficult to pick while the leg-spin spun reasonably well to keep the batsmen on their toes. He was oozing with confidence and it will be interesting to see if he manages to replicate similar confidence in the games to come, which are must win for Pakistan.

Pakistan made an emphatic comeback in the 2017 Champions Trophy and with three more games to go, they stand a solid chance of qualifying provided other results go in their favour too. And for that to happen, Shadab Khan will have to take control of things in the middle overs at a staggering consistency.