3rd ODI in Abu Dhabi: Tahir wrecks Pakistan to inspire Proteas

Leg-spinner Imran Tahir took four wickets while Jean-Paul Duminy and Faf du Plessis scored half-centuries to help South Africa beat Pakistan by 68 runs in the third one-day international at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

South Africa took a 2-1 lead in the five-match one-day international series after their empatic win.

Chasing a stiff target of 260, Tahir wrecked Pakistan's middle order with figures of 4-53 to bowl them out for 191 in 44.3 overs.

Tahir, who conceded 18 in his first two overs, returned for a second spell, triggering a batting collapse which saw Pakistan lose five wickets for 30 runs.

Both teams will meet again at the same venue on Friday before the series is rounded off in Sharjah on Monday.

South Africa won the first match in Sharjah by one run while Pakistan won the second match in Dubai by 66 runs.

South Afrca were always in control despite Pakistan getting off to a flying start with openers Hafeez (15) and Shehzad (32) posting a half century stand in just eight overs before both departed in quick succession.

Shehzad cracked seven boundaries in his 24-ball 32 before Steyn struck in his second over.

Tsotsobe put the skids on the Pakistan run-chase with an excellent spell while spinner Tahir ripped through through the middle order to finish with best figures of four for 53.

Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals before a defiant stand of 61 by eighth wicket pair Tanvir (31) and Riaz (33) delayed the inevitable.

Riaz smashed three boundaries and a six while Tanvir slammed six boundaries.

Morkel and McLaren claimed two wickets apiece.

Earlier, South Africa reached 259-8 after opting to bat first helped by half centuries from Faf du Plessis (55) and JP Duminy (64).

Quinton de Kock made 40 with five boundaries during a 77-run stand for the second wicket with du Plessis after Amla was bowled by a beauty from Irfan.

South Africa were pegged back by a double strike from Afridi before AB de Villiers (34) salvaged the innings with a 70-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Duminy.

Miller (34) shared in a 60-run stand for the fifth wicket with Duminy before the South Africa fell away in the final overs without gathering any momentum.

Irfan had the best figures of three for 46 while Ajmal and Afridi claimed two apiece.

PAKISTAN INNINGS

Tanvir is the last man out after a defiant knock pulling McLaren to Amla at midwicket.

Sohail Tanvir c Amla b McLaren 31 (38b 6x4 0x6)

Tahir finishes with figures of 10-1-53-4. Pak 186-9 in 43 overs.

Tahir claims his fourth wicket trapping Ajmal leg before as Pakistan are on the brink of defeat now. Pak 182-9 in 42.1 overs.    

Saeed Ajmal lbw b Imran Tahir 1 (3b 0x4 0x6)

Tanvir continues to make a defiant last ditch effort swinging Morkel over the keeper for a boundary. Pak 182-8 in 42 overs.

The eighth wicket stand of 61 between Riaz and Tanvir was the best of the Pakistan innings and certainly quite enterprising.

Pakistan's faint hopes of an unlikely victory are fading away as big-hitting Riaz nicks one behind off Morkel. Pak 177-8 in 41.1 overs.

Wahab Riaz c de Kock b Morkel 33 (47b 3x4 1x6)

Tanveer not to be outdone has swept a full toss from Tahir to the fence followed by a reverse sweep to the fence. Pak 177-7 in 41 overs.

Riaz and Tanvir has certainly brought the match back to life.

Pakistan have made 34 in the Batting Powerplay and need 92 from 60 balls.

Riaz has sent McLaren sailing into the stands at long-on to bring up the 50 partnership for the eighth wicket with Tanvir off just 61 balls. Pak 168-7 in 40 overs.

Riaz has smashed a couple of boundaries off Steyn. Pak 161-7 in 39 overs.

Tanvir and Riaz are showing their batting skills helping themselves to boundaries off Steyn and McLaren to keep alive Pakistan's hopes. Pak 152-7 in 38 overs.

Steyn has replaced Tahir who has figures of 8-1-40-3.

The Pakistan supporters also filter out of the grounds after Afridi's dismissal. Pak 118-7 in 31 overs.

Pakistan's last hope Afridi is trapped leg before by McLaren with the umpire reviewing it and the verdict standing. Pak 116-7 in 29.3 overs.

Shahid Afridi lbw b McLaren 6 (7b 1x4 0x6)

Pakistan are collapsing with Tahir taking his third wicket with Shafiq lobbing a catch to Faf at cover. Pak 115-6 in 28.2 overs.    

Asad Shafiq c du Plessis b Imran Tahir 11 (28b 1x4 0x6)

Tahir strikes again holding onto a return catch from Akmal. Pak 106-5 in 27 overs.

Umar Akmal c and b Imran Tahir 7 (20b 0x4 0x6)

Shafiq gets his first boundary punching Steyn through mid on to bring up the 100 of the innings in the 25th over.

Tsotsobe completes an excellent spell returning figures of 10-2-34-1. Pak 95-4 in 24 overs.

Tahir strikes a major blow trapping Misbah with a googly. Pak 89-4 in 20.3 overs    

Misbah-ul-Haq lbw b Imran Tahir 19 (36b 3x4 0x6)

Tsotsobe strikes with Amin being adjudged caught behind following a successful decision review by South Africa. Pak 86-3 in 19.2 overs.

Umar Amin c de Kock b Tsotsobe 13 (27b 2x4 0x6)

Consecutive maiden overs by Tsotsobe has put the pressure back on Pakistan. Pak 85-2 in 18 overs.

Pakistan are targetting Tahir with Misbah smashing him over midwicket for a boundary. Pak 85-2 in 17 overs.

Tsotsobe bowls a maiden in the first over after the drinks interval.

Tahir goes for 13 in his first over with Misbah and Amin cracking three boundaries. Pak 79-2 in 15 overs.

Quinton de Kock fails to latch onto a tough leg side chance from Misbah glances Morkel to fine leg for a boundary. Pak 61-2 in 12 overs.

Steyn has gone off the field for treatment after bowling three overs.

Faf du Plessis takes a low catch at backward as Hafeez slices Morkel though he stood his ground claiming it was not taken clean but replays showed otherwise. Pak 52-2  in 10 overs.

Mohammad Hafeez c du Plessis b Morkel 15 (31b 3x4 0x6

Umar Amin has surprisingly come at No.3.

Steyn strikes in his second over removing the dangerous Shehzad who edges to Amla at slip. Pak 50-1 in 8.1 overs.

Ahmed Shehzad c Amla b Steyn 32 (24b 7x4 0x6)

Hafeez cuts Tsotsobe to third man for a boundary. Pak 50-0 in 8 overs.

Steyn bowls the first time in the series and concedes just a single. Pak 44-0 in 7 overs.

Shehzad cracks Tsotsobe through point for his seventh boundary. Pak 43-0 in 6 overs.

Shehzad is turning it on smashing consecutive boundaries off Morkel to the leg side. Pak 37-0 in 5 overs.

Shehzad hammers three boundaries off Tsotsobe as Pakistan are off to a blazing start. Pak 27-0 in 4 overs.

Hafeez pulls Morkel to midwicket for his first boundary and then caresses him through the covers for another. Pak 15-0 in 3 overs.

Shehzad hits the first boundary of the innings driving Tsotsobe through the covers.

SOUTH AFRICA ININGS

McLaren goes after clobbering a six and a boundary off Irfan in the penultimate ball of the innings. SA 258-8 in 45.5 overs.    

Ryan McLaren lbw b Mohammad Irfan 13 (7b 1x4 1x6)

Shehzad takes a superb catch in the deep as Steyn attempts to heave Irfan out of the ground. SA 248-7 in 49.1 overs.

Dale Steyn c Ahmed Shehzad b Mohammad Irfan 2 (4b 0x4 0x6)

Misbah takes a superb catch at mid on to dismiss Duminy who is deceived by a slower delivery. SA 245-6 in 48.2 overs.

JP Duminy c Misbah-ul-Haq b Sohail Tanvir 64 (89b 3x4 0x6)

Ajmal finishes his spell with excellent figures of 10-1-38-2.

The partnership between Duminy and Miller for the fifth wicket yielded 61 runs in 10.3 overs.

Ajmal strikes in his final over castling Miller who lunges forward. SA 243-5 in 47.5 overs.

David Miller b Saeed Ajmal 34 (32b 4x4 0x6)

Miller slams a full toss from Tanvir for a boundary. SA 239-4 in 47 overs.

Miller gets a streaky boundary off Afridi who finishes his spell with fine figures of 10-0-37-2. SA 226-4 in 45 overs.

Miller slams a boundary off the last delivery from Hafeez but South Africa have yet to fire in the final overs. SA 216-4 in 44 overs.

Ajmal bowls a maiden in the 42nd over.

Duminy completes his 17th ODI half century off 67 balls. SA 203-4 in 41 overs.

Miller gets his first boundary cutting Hafeez with the ball going through Shehzad highlighting the poor fielding of Pakistanis.

Pakistan stifled South Africa in the Batting Powerplay as they managed just 20 runs for the loss of AB de Villiers. SA 194-4 in 40 overs.

Duminy cracks Ajmal for a boundary with superb timing. A 189-4 in 38 overs.

The partnership between Duminy and AB de Villiers for the fourth wicket yielded 70 runs.

Ajmal strikes with Hafeez jumping backwards to hold onto a skier from AB de Villiers at deep fine leg. SA 182-4 in 37.2 overs.

AB de Villiers c Mohammad Hafeez b Saeed Ajmal 34 (40b 2x4 0x6)

Ajmal concedes just two runs in the first over of Batting Powerplay. SA 176-3 in 36 overs.

Duminy lucky to be there after Akmal fails to hold on to an inside edge off Hafeez which goes to the boundary in the first over after the drinks break. SA 170-3 in 34 overs.

AB de Villiers smacked a flighted delivery from Afridi through the covers for another boundary. SA 150-3 in 30 overs.

AB de Villiers hits his first boundary driving Tanvir through the covers. SA 143-3 in 29 overs.

Duminy punches Irfan down the ground for a boundary. SA 130-3 in 27 overs.

Duminy survives after being adjudged caught behind off Irfan with South Africa successfully overturning the verdict. SA 114-3 in 22 overs.

Double strike by Afridi who weaves his magic with the ball to draw out Faf du Plessis who misses the wrong line like Quinton. SA 112-3 in 22 overs.   

Faf du Plessis st Umar Akmal b Shahid Afridi 55 (60b 8x4 0x6)

Faf du Plessis hammers consecutive boundaries off Riaz to race to his seventh ODI half century which contained eight hits to the fence.

Quinton and Faf put on 77 runs in 15.3 overs for the the second wicket.

Afridi strikes in his second over drawing out Quinton for a booming drive only to be stumped by Akmal. SA 97-2 in 19.5 overs.    

Quinton de Kock st Umar Akmal b Shahid Afridi 40 (57b 5x4 0x6)

Afridi has come into the attack as play resumes after the drinks interval.

Quinton and Faf du Plessis have added 69 runs in 12.4 overs the unfinished second wicket to put South Africa in command. SA 89-1 in 17 overs as drinks are taken.

It is turning out to be a batting wicket with Faf du Plessis picking up another boundary against Ajmal. SA 83-1 in 16 overs.

Riaz has been hit for a couple of boundaries by Quinton and Faf in his first over. SA 75-1 in 14 overs.

Faf du Plessis drives Ajmal for a boundary past cover as South Africa recover after the dismssal of Amla. SA 65-1 in 14 overs.

Ajmal into the attack after nine overs with South Africa 46-1.

Quinton is growing in confidence stepping out and driving Hafeez over extra cover for a boundary. SA 46-1 in 9 overs.

Hafeez replaced Irfan who has figures of 4-1-8-1.

Faf du Plessis cracks a couple of boundaries off Tanvir on either side of the wicket. SA 40-1 in 8 overs.

Quinton gets another boundary off Irfan clipping him to the backward square leg. SA 29-1 in 7 overs.

Irfan draws first blood producing a peach of a yorker to stun Amla. SA 20-1 in 4.2 overs.

Hashim Amla b Mohammad Irfan 10 (10b 1x4 0x6)

Irfan is wavering in light and has been punished with South Africa getting a couple of boundaries. SA 18-0 in 3 overs.

Quinton hits the first boundary of the match cracking Tanvir to the point fence. SA 8-0 in 2 overs.

The big news is that Smith has been ruled out for the rest of the series with a post-concussion syndrome after being hit by a bouncer from Irfan during the Dubai Test.

Quinton de Kock has replaced Smith and will keep wicket instead of de Villiers, while Steyn is in for Wayne Parnell.

Pakistan have brought in Asad Shafiq in place of Nasir Jamshed. 

PLAYING XI

South Africa: H Amla, Q de Kock, JP Duminy, AB de Villiers, F du Plessis, D Miller, R McLaren, D Steyn, M Morkel, L Tsotsobe, Imran Tahir

Pakistan: Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan

South Africa have won the toss and opted to bat first in the third one-day international against Pakistan at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

The series is tied 1-1.

PREVIEW

South Africa will look for a lead over Pakistan with the return of batsman Hashim Amla and spearhead Dale Steyn as the teams meet in the third match in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

Amla will boost a struggling South African batting which slumped to 183 and 143 in the first two matches while Steyn will strengthen the bowling attack in the remaining three matches.

Amla had returned home after the 1-1 drawn Test series while Steyn missed the first two one-days to get some rest back home.

The series is tied at 1-1 after South Africa outlasted Pakistan by one run in Sharjah while Pakistan levelled the series with an emphatic 66-run win in Dubai in the second match on Friday.

South African captain AB de Villiers hoped the changes will help take a lead.

"We are hoping that the changes will help, especially in the batting department. We know we are under pressure as a batting unit and as a team. It is time to come to the party and play some proper cricket," said De Villiers.

Amla will replace flopped opener Colin Ingram who returned home after being his stand-by while Lonwabo Tsotsobe is likely to make way for Steyn.

South Africa may also consider replacing struggling Faf du Plessis with left-arm spinner Robin Peterson, who is also a good batsman.

But De Villiers denied South Africans were panicking.

"We have played cricket for a long time without some of our best talents like Amla and (Jacques) Kallis. We don't need to panic as I still believe that we are a world class unit and we are still 1-1 in this series.

"If we are panicking because we didn't win all the matches while playing away from home then we shouldn't be the best team in the world," said De Villiers, who vowed to face Pakistani spinners as a challenge.

"I would like my team to fight through the toughest. We don't want to win easy at all. We do want freebies, we want to do it the hard way out and tomorrow it gives us another opportunity to do so against Pakistan playing away from home."

Pakistan is also likely to strengthen their batting by bringing uncapped Sohaib Maqsood in place of Umar Amin.

They may also bring in left-arm paceman Junaid Khan for Wahab Riaz.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq admitted the third match is crucial.

"I think this will be a tough match in a tough series and whoever wins this will have an edge in the remaining matches," said Misbah.

The fourth match will be played in Abu Dhabi on Friday while the fifth and final match is in Sharjah on November 11.

Misbah hopes his batsmen improve.

"It's time the batting lifts itself because if they do well our bowling will win us more matches," said Misbah.

 

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