ICC World Cup: South Africa beat Pakistan by 1 wicket in thriller

Pakistan bowlers fought well but in-form South Africa emerged victorious in a nail-biting ICC ODI World Cup 2023 match in Chennai on Friday. Chasing 271 to win, the last Proteas pair of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi found the winning run with 16 balls to play. The result has pushed the Asian powerhouse to the brink of elimination from the tournament.Aiden Markram anchored the South African run chase, making 91 off 93 deliveries. However, once Markram fell, Pakistan came roaring back into the game picking wickets at succession. However, Man of the Match Shamsi and Maharaj held their nerves to take their team home. Shaheen Afridi (3/45 in 10 overs), Usama Mir (2/45 in 8 overs) and Mohammad Wasim Jr (2/50 in 10 overs kept Pakistan in the hunt. Earlier in the game, Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan suffered a head injury and was replaced by spinner Usama Mir as the concussion substitute. The incident happened in the opening over of South Africa's chase when Shadab attempted to run out Quinton de Kock only to land badly on his head and shoulder, needing immediate medical attention. As he lay motionless on the ground, a stretcher was called upon before he got back up and walked to the dressing room with his head held straight, which was initially deemed to be a possible neck sprain. Although he briefly returned to the field, he was later ruled out of the remainder of the encounter and was replaced by Mir as a concussion substitute. South Africa vs Pakistan World Cup nail-biter: As it happenedFor Pakistan, kipper Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel struck fifties but Pakistan batters frittered away good starts to be bowled out for a below-par 270 by South Africa during their World Cup match here on Friday. While Babar managed 50 off 65 deliveries, Shakeel made a run-a-ball 52 but Pakistan couldn't build enough partnerships and also faltered in the back end to be dismissed in 46.4 overs after opting to bat. Left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who was playing only his second game, shone with figures of four for 60, while Marco Jansen (3/43) was superb with the new ball, and Gerald Coetzee (2/42) also snapped two. It all began with a maiden over from Jansen, who accounted for both the openers -- Abdullah Shafique (9) and Imam-ul-Haq (12) as Pakistan slipped to 38 for 2 in the seventh over. It could have been third down for the Pakistan in the same over had Jansen hold on to a caught and bowled chance for Mohammad Rizwan. Rizwan started on an aggressive note, hitting a six off spinner Keshav Maharaj and constructing a 48-run partnership with Babar (50). However, the lease of life that Jansen offered him did not last long, as in the 16th over, speedster Coetzee sent him back to the pavilion after being caught behind, with the score reading 86 for three. While Coetzee continued to suppress Pakistan's scoring rate, they brought up their 100 by the 20th over. The pair of Babar and Iftikhar Ahmed (21) added 43 for the fourth wicket before the latter became the fourth man to be dismissed, holing out to Heinrich Klaasen off Shamsi in the 26th. In the meantime, Babar brought up his 31st ODI half-century but right after the landmark, he fell prey to Shamsi in the 28th after an attempted sweep saw the ball take the faintest of nicks before being gloved by Quinton de Kock. Although initially given not out by the umpire, the Proteas opted for the review at the last moment and the decision went in their favour as Pakistan slumped to 141 for five. Saud Shakeel (52) and Shadab Khan (43) then joined hands and forged a much-needed partnership of 84 runs, bringing their innings back on track. Soon the team 200 was up by the 37th over but Pakistan couldn't make use of the platform. While Shadab mainly targeted Maharaj, it was Coetzee who got the better of him in the 40th after an attempted pull to mid-wicket saw him getting caught by Maharaj. With ten more overs remaining, the Pakistani batters looked to go for shots to cross the 300-run mark. It was a dream far too fetched for the Green Shirts, as they lost Shakeel at 43rd over, followed by Shaheen Afridi (2) to slip to 259 for 8. Mohammad Nawaz (24) and Mohammad Wasim Jr (7) were the final men to fall. - With PTI inputs

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