CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Pakistan achieved their second consecutive major one-day international series victory on foreign soil by defeating South Africa by 81 runs at Newlands on Thursday. After having triumphed over Australia 2-1 the previous month, Pakistan has now taken a 2-0 lead in the series against the Proteas with one match remaining.
Contributions from Babar Azam, captain Mohammad Rizwan, and allrounder Kamran Ghulam, who all secured half-centuries, anchored Pakistan’s innings to a total of 329 all out. South Africa’s response faltered despite Heinrich Klaasen’s commendable effort of 97 runs, as Pakistan’s bowlers maintained strong pressure, culminating in Shaheen Shah Afridi taking three wickets in a critical span of three overs. Klaasen was ultimately dismissed, marking South Africa’s total at 248 in the 44th over.
This win marks Pakistan’s fifth consecutive bilateral ODI series victory, positioning them favorably ahead of the upcoming Champions Trophy, which they will host in February. The team remained unchanged from their previous three-wicket victory in Paarl on Tuesday, despite a rocky start where both openers were dismissed within the first ten overs.
Rizwan faced an early scare when he was struck on the helmet by debutant pacer Kwena Maphaka but quickly regained composure to form a solid partnership of 115 runs with Babar. The partnership came to an end when Babar was caught at midwicket after scoring 73 runs off 95 balls, marking his first half-century across all formats for Pakistan since May and his first ODI half-century in over a year.
Rizwan followed soon after, contributing 80 runs from 82 balls, as he was caught and bowled by Maphaka while attempting to accelerate the innings. Pakistan found themselves at 192-4 with 14 overs remaining, forcing a reset. Amid four dropped catches by South Africa, Ghulam capitalized on the situation and delivered an explosive innings, reaching a half-century in just 25 balls before finishing with 63 runs off 32 balls. His performance significantly boosted Pakistan’s total, with the team managing to score 105 runs in the last ten overs. Rizwan praised Ghulam’s innings, stating, “We were looking for 300 but we got 300-plus, must give credit to him. I had trust in him but not like that … that was something different.”
Chasing a target of 330 runs, South Africa’s openers, Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi, began well, providing a solid start in the first 12 overs. However, the introduction of spinners Abrar Ahmed and part-timer Salman Agha dismantled three top-order batsmen and stifled their scoring rate, resulting in an increasing required run rate.
Klaasen and the returning David Miller seemed to be revitalizing the chase with their partnership before Miller was dismissed, caught behind off Shaheen for 29, which ended their 72-run stand over 12 overs. Klaasen continued to battle through the innings but fell just three runs short of what would have been his fifth ODI century. Shaheen finished with impressive figures of 4-47, while fellow pacer Naseem Shah added to the pressure, taking 3-37. The final ODI is set to take place on Sunday in Johannesburg.