SA vs PAK | Twitter in disbelief as Proteas hold their nerve to triumph by 1-wicket in an all-time thriller

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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South Africa tasted an exhilarating victory in the closest encounter World Cup 2023 has witnessed to far, at Chepauk on Friday. The side looked largely on course to chase down 271 before a roller-coaster second-half saw Pakistan fight back valiantly, only to fall painfully short of a famous win.

Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first  but it was the South African bowlers who made their presence felt during the first powerplay. Jansen claimed two early wickets, having Abdullah Shafique caught at deep square leg before Imam-ul-Haq edged a wide delivery to gully. Pakistan, thus reeling at 58/2 after 10 overs, found themselves in a dire need of a substantial partnership to stabilize the innings. Babar Azam stepped up, notching a half-century even as the Men in Green further collapsed before succumbing himself immediately after the milestone. At 145/5 with 22 overs to go, Pakistan stood the risk of tumbling out for a significantly subpar score. However, Saud Shakeel emerged as the linchpin of Pakistan's recovery, aided by a quick 43 from Shadab Khan and a run-a-ball 24 from Mohammad Nawaz. He was eventually outdone by Tabraiz Shamsi, who ended with brilliant figures of 4/60 to restrict the opposition to 270.

In response, the Proteas began strongly, with Quinton de Kock taking four boundaries off Shaheen Afridi's first over. However, the left-arm quick had the last laugh by getting rid of the in-form opener for 24. Skipper Temba Bavuma upheld the positive momentum thereon, consistently finding the boundary, but returned to the pavilion as well on the penultimate ball of the powerplay with the team scorecard reading 69/2. Subsequently, Rassie van der Dussen forged a rapid fluent 54-run partnership with Aiden Markram before being dismissed by concussion sub Usama Mir after Shadab Khan hurt himself while fielding. Heinrich Klaasen failed to recreate the previous game’s heroics, the score thus reading 154/4 at the halfway stage of the innings on the back of Markram’s half-century. Nevertheless, the Proteas appeared to be in control of the game with David Miller quickly knocking off the runs alongside Markram.

However, the game took a sudden turn when Afridi had the former caught behind for 29 with 65 runs still to get. Marco Jansen could not shoulder the responsibility either and trot off after a rapid 20, leaving Markram as the last batter standing. He fought on to 91, making the match seem like a foregone conclusion with just 21 needed off the final 10 overs, until Mir turned the game on its head by scalping the big fish. Gerald Coetzee fell five balls later and the Men in Green were within one wicket of victory when Haris Rauf brilliantly caught and bowled Lungi Ngidi at 260/9. However, Keshav Maharaj emerged as the unlikely hero, digging in for 20 balls for three runs before striking the winning four in th 48th over.

PROTEAS WIN!!

Lucky side!

Hero of South Africa

lol

Party time

The same old

Teacher - Student

Can't stop laughing

The best

Just wow!

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