T20 World Cup’22, PAK vs SA: Pakistan 185 for 9 (Shadab 52, Iftikhar 51, Nortje 4-41) beat South Africa 108 for 9 in 14 overs (Bavuma 36, Afridi 3-14, Shadab 2-16) by 33 runs (DLS method)

With a victory over their favourite opponents in a rain-shortened, much-win match, Pakistan has maintained their hopes of reaching the semifinals: South Africa and Pakistan have prevailed in each of their four T20 World Cup encounters. With this latest result, there are no more teams at this World Cup who have never lost.

Pakistan recovered from 95 for 5 on a chilly Sydney evening to post their fifth-highest score against South Africa and World Cup record, as well as their highest score overall. Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan scored half-centuries to get Pakistan to a competitive score despite their top order failing once more. A sloppy South African fielding performance helped them.They fumbled several times on a slick outfield and dropped five catches, more than in the other three tournament matches combined.

Pakistan won the match with the ball after setting up with the bat.Although Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw were cheaply bowled out by Shaheen Shah Afridi, Temba Bavuma played his best 2022 innings, and the chase was going well until the eighth over. When Shadab discovered Bavuma’s edge, South Africa was 65 for 2—ahead of the DLS par of 58 at the time.The DLS par rose to 66 at the wicket’s fall, and it reached 77 two balls later when Aiden Markam was run out. South Africa needed to be on 85 to win when play was stopped after nine overs, but they were 69 for 4.

Pakistan can potentially still top their group 😎#T20WorldCup #PAKvSA pic.twitter.com/9jyQkBdNPH

— Sport360° (@Sport360) November 3, 2022

The chase was cut short by an hour, and South Africa needed 75 runs from the remaining five overs when play resumed. Although Tristan Stubbs and Heinrich Klaasen came in to replace David Miller, who was out with back spasms, the task was always going to be too high. South Africa must beat Netherlands on Sunday to keep their fate in their own hands and maintain second place in the Group 2 points table behind India.

HIGHLIGHTS

Haris’ hit out

Mohammad Haris made an immediate impression when he was brought into the Pakistan XI following Fakhar Zaman’s tournament-ending recurrence of his knee injury this year. The second ball he faced, a short ball from Wayne Parnell, hit him in the grille, which appeared to motivate him to act. He tucked into Kagiso Rabada’s first over and hit a half-volley deep backward square for six, a pull over fine leg for six more, and a short ball through square leg to cost South Africa their most costly over thus far: 17 runs.

When Haris played the ball on the leg side, complete with a shuffle across the stumps, he clearly displayed strength. Unfortunately, this was also his downfall. He was run out for lbw after being hit in line with off stump by a delivery from Anrich Nortje. His 28 off 11 balls gave Pakistan’s Powerplay a boost, and despite losing their top three, they finished with the tournament’s highest Powerplay score of 42.

Nawaz:out, or not?

With a 52-run fifth-wicket partnership, Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz helped Pakistan recover from 43 for 4. When Iftikhar gloved the ball skyward, to Quinton de Kock’s right, they had some nervous moments up front. De Kock tried valiantly to hold on with one hand, but he was unable to do so. After two balls, Nawaz hit a thick edge wide of de Kock, but the two never looked back.

Nawaz gained control of Ngidi and then Shamsi after Iftikhar took advantage of Rabada’s misfired lines and lengths. He slogged Shamsi over deep midwicket and then shaped up for the sweep but missed and was struck on the front pad. When Nawaz was given out, he started a run, and then Lungi Ngidi hit the ball straight into the stumps.Nawaz ignored the review because he must have thought he was run out. He had a thick bottom edge, and replays showed that he made a mistake. Law 20.1.1.3 states that the moment the umpire raised his finger, prior to Ngidi’s throw, the ball would have been dead.Nawaz would not have been eliminated.

But maybe not such a bad thing

Shadab Khan joined the team after Nawaz was fired, and Pakistan couldn’t have asked for more. Shadab liked Shamsi a lot and scored 13 runs in his final over, which cost 15 runs all together. He then hit a full-toss from Ngidi to deep backward square for four, drove Nortje through the middle of the field for four more runs, and uppercut him for six.At the end, Nortje bowled full and missed a yorker attempt. Shadab scored Pakistan’s second-fastest fifty in T20I cricket with a full-toss into the stands and another over long-on for fifty in 20 balls. After putting Pakistan within touching distance of 200, he went too big too many times, was dropped by Aiden Markram at long-on, and Tristan Stubbs caught him at deep midwicket.

From the last seven overs, Pakistan totaled 90 runs.

Pakistan’s frantic finish

Pakistan lost four wickets for eight runs after Shadab’s dismissal, during which Pakistan attempted to reach the boundary with each ball. Bavuma zooted in from the ring to make a quick catch after Mohammad Wasim top-edged Nortje. Iftikhar chose to attack Rabada in the final over, hitting him to long-on, where Rilee Rossouw made an excellent catch. As Pakistan struggled to score a fourth run, Haris Rauf was run out on the final ball. The stumps were broken by Bavuma.

Afridi’s amazing start

After returning from an injury, Pakistan’s ace explained that he was working his way back to full steam after a quiet start to the tournament, taking just one wicket in the first three matches. In this match, he got there by starting with a series of backhand deliveries to de Kock, who was looking for the midwicket area but couldn’t find it. De Kock got there with the final ball of the over, but his shot missed Haris on the ring’s edge. Due to a duck, De Kock was kicked out. Afridi pulled in South Africa’s big man, Rossouw, with a ball that didn’t deserve a wicket in his next over. Rossouw obliged because it was short, wide, and screamed “hit me.” Naseem Shah ran around to take the catch after he slashed to the deep third.South Africa had 16 wins to 2.

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Shadab’s double strike

Bavuma’s best and most profitable 2022 innings included a scoop for six, which he tried but failed to pull off earlier in the tournament. He scored 36 off 18 balls, and the hoodoo seemed to be broken. When Shadab was brought on in the eighth over, however, he continued to dominate the night. Bavuma opened the bat’s face to try to hit to third, but he nicked off after he delivered the standard leg break. This strike was crucial because it put South Africa behind on DLS when rain was coming.At two down, the DLS par was 59 after 7.1 overs. It increased to 66 with three down. At the time, South Africa was at 65 points.And their situation deteriorated. Shadab bowled Markram with a top spinner two balls later, as the batter went back to try to cut, and South Africa were 66 for 4 at that point. Nine balls later, it became abundantly clear that Shadab had played a decisive role in this match.