Led by centuries from Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha, Pakistan registered their highest successful ODI run chase, beating South Africa by six wickets in a high-scoring encounter in Karachi on Wednesday. The win, their first in the tournament, has now sent them to the final of the tri-series to be played on Friday (February 14).

Pakistan had made a steady start to the run-chase with Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman putting on a half-century stand in less than six overs, before the former departed. Even as Babar had set the tempo with two boundaries in the opening over, much of the attack in this period had come from Zaman’s bat. The southpaw had taken a liking to Corbin Bosch and smashed him for 25 runs in two overs.

Zaman’s assault aside, South Africa kept chipping with regular wickets to reduce the home side to 91 for 3 by the 11th over. Saud Shakeel holed out to Wiaan Mulder at deep mid wicket while Zaman’s jab caught the outside edge to the ‘keeper. Nonetheless, the brisk start offered time for Agha and Rizwan to settle in.

Even as Rizwan got going by pulling the first ball of his innings for a boundary, he soon moved towards a more conservative approach. In the early part of their partnership, Agha and Rizwan depended more on rotating the strike, and were pacing at well below run-a-ball by the time they brought up the half-century of their partnership.

Even as there were the occasional boundaries flowing, the first intent of pressing the accelerator was noticed in the 29th over, when Rizwan slogswept Keshav Maharaj for a six and then went down the track to Senuran Muthuswamy for the same result. Agha was more pleasant with his strokeplay even as he played some fine shots on the up. As the partnership swelled, the flow of boundaries also increased. Runs came at a faster pace and the bowlers seemed less threatening.

Rizwan brought up his century by pulling Wiaan Mulder for a six, only three balls before Agha reached the mark with a single – his maiden ODI ton. The duo added 260 runs for the fourth wicket before Agha’s innings was cut short, two runs short of the target. Tayyab Tahir completed the formalities by stroking the first ball of his innings for a boundary to help Pakistan over the line with an over to spare.

Earlier in the day, half-centuries by Temba Bavuma, Matthew Breetzke and Heinrich Klaasen had set the stage for South Africa’s total of 352 for 5. Opting to bat, the visitors had blazed away to 51 runs within the eighth over before losing their first wicket, when Toni De Zorzi’s edge was pouched by a fine diving effort from Agha at slips. It was the first of the two stunning catches he had taken.

The second had come much later, against the run of play at the start of the 39th over, when Breetzke’s powerful cover drive on the up was intercepted by Agha, who dived to his right. However, between those two catches by Agha, South Africa had laid a strong foundation with Bavuma and Breetzke stitching a 119-run alliance and Breetzke adding 68 more in the company of Klaasen.

On a pitch where there wasn’t much assistance for the bowlers, it was an well-paced innings by South Africa. Without having to take too many risks, Bavuma used the width of the crease well to find a regular flow of boundaries. Breetzke, on the other hand, was more assertive with his intent to score. Every now and then he gave the charge to the bowlers, unsettled them from their lengths and used it to his advantage.

The flow of boundaries continued in a good flow as they marched along at close to run a ball. Much like Breetzke’s innings later, Bavuma’s stay too was cut short in the 80s and without the bowler having much of a role to play in it. Bavuma set off for a single after cutting the ball to backward point. However, Breetzke aborted the run, leaving his captain stuck mid-way on the pitch. The dismissal led to aggressive celebrations from the Pakistanis, which even forced the umpires to intervene and warn the captain.

While Breetzke continued in his pace, Klaasen cut loose in the 34th over, smashing Mohammad Hasnain for four boundaries. He kept the attack going and drilled two boundaries off Naseem Shah too just before Breetzke’s fall. Even as two set batters were dismissed, the stage was set for a late flourish, and Klaasen capitalised on it in the company of Kyle Verreynne. The most ruthless of the attacks came against Shaheen Afridi, who was taken apart for 20 runs in the 46th over. Hasnain came under fire again in the last over of the innings when Corbin Bosch launched him for a boundary and a six. In a contest where more than 700 runs were scored, it seemed like South Africa’s acceleration came a little too late.

Brief scores:
South Africa 353/5 in 50 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 87, Matthew Breetzke 83, Temba Bavuma 82; Shaheen Afridi 2-66) lost to Pakistan 355/4 in 49 overs (Salman Agha 134, Mohammad Rizwan 122*; Wiaan Mulder 2-79) by 6 wickets