Rain intervened yet another South African World Cup encounter, this time around leading Pakistan to a 33-run victory in Sydney courtesy of the DLS method.
The Proteas were asked to bowl first by Pakistan skipper, Babar Azam in a must-win clash for Pakistan. Wayne Parnell quietly went into his work and accounted for the dangerous Mohammad Rizwan in the very first over of the match.
His new ball partner, Kagiso Rabada, struggled once again upfront gifting Pakistan 17 runs off his first over. Muhammad Haris (28 off 11) and Mohammad Nawaz (28 off 22) had brief stays but feasted on South Africa’s uncharacteristic loose bowling.
Mistakes in the field didn’t help either as Iftikhar Ahmed (51 off 35) and Shadab Khan (52 off 22) cashed in on the runs to lead Pakistan to a competitive 185-9. The pair took Pakistan from a worrisome 95-5 after 13 overs to 177-6 after 18.5 overs and set the game up for Pakistan.
In reply, Bavuma assumed the responsibility of aggressor when Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw fell cheaply inside the first three overs. Bavuma (36 off 19) and Aiden Makram (20 off 14) looked good for their 49-run partnership. Both batters lost their wickets in the 8th over and soon after the umpires sent the players off due to rain.
At that point, the Proteas were 16 runs behind the required 85 runs after the 9-over mark. Play resumed with the game situation drastically changed by the DLS method.
The Proteas needed 73 runs in 5 overs. The task proved too much for the South Africans as they finished on 108-9 falling short by 33 runs.
Despite the loss, South Africa is placed second in group 2, one point behind log-leaders, India. This makes South Africa’s clash against the Netherlands on Sunday a must-win game.
