Nervy South Africa hang on for win

They fell apart again at the death but ultimately a hundred from Hashim Amla and four wickets from Morne Morkel were just about enough to sneak South Africa home in the third ODI in Dubai. A second death-overs meltdown in two games let Pakistan come within two runs, but a 2-1 series lead was secured.

South Africa were exceptional for 42 overs in defending 229. Pakistan had just lost Abdul Razzaq, they needed 76 on a sluggish, boundary-shy surface: game over. But Morkel, Rusty Theron and Lonwabo Tsotsobe lost their minds, nerves, lengths and lines. Fielders began to drop catches as Wahab Riaz, of all batsmen, smashed an 11-ball 21 and, with Fawad Alam, pillaged 56 runs in the Powerplay. Ultimately, despite a panic-stricken last over from Theron, Pakistan just didn't have enough batsmen. Alam remained unbeaten on 59, valiant but not deal-sealing.

Hashim Amla made his fifth ODI century of the year © AFP

Before that, Morkel and Tsotsobe had opened with sterling spells. The visitors have made light of Dale Steyn's absence, mainly because Tsotsobe has had a fine series. He is uncomplicated, using the natural left-arm angle well and has subtle changes in pace. If he hasn't bowled an outstanding spell that will stick in the mind, neither has he bowled a poor one. Today was no different.

Having Morkel at the other end, bowling with unspeaking meanness, helps. Morkel gave nothing away for long, not on width, not on length; both the pace and bounce added to an unceasing atmosphere. One over to Younis Khan was particularly good, five dot balls which left him nowhere to go but out, and he was, off the last ball.

The first ten overs ceded 23 and one boundary. With Pakistan not going anywhere, the fielding took over. In any case Imran Farhat was as lively as a library and as awake as a morgue to scoring opportunities. The arrival of Asad Shafiq got things moving but so tightly did South Africa police the field that a run-out looked inevitable. Eventually it came breaking a labored but vital 85-run stand. Soon after, a cramping Shafiq went the same way. Morkel returned, just as mean, and dismissed Shahid Afridi. He set the tone for Razzaq, bowling short or shortish, and giving him nothing remotely full and that should have been that.

But if nothing else, Amla's fifth hundred of the year, a masterful knock deserved the win. But for him South Africa would've been nowhere and we would've been lauding a match-winning spell from Shoaib Akhtar.

From the start, there were two pitches, one for Amla and another, sluggish one, for the rest. He hit nine out of his side's total 12 boundaries. Two in the first over solidified the impression that he has batted in one unbroken stretch since the first ODI. Where others couldn't time it, he glided along, utilizing the modern batsman's get-out clause - a dab to third man - liberally.

Occasionally he improvised, but mostly he just stayed cool. That helped, given the outrageous decision that sent back AB de Villiers. An important partnership had been constructed when in Afridi's first over, TV umpire Zameer Haider chose to give de Villiers out stumped when he was distinctly in. Others gave Amla some support but it was a one-man job.

A brace of boundaries paved the way for a hassle-free fifty just before the halfway mark. Then he disappeared, quietly picking off runs here and there. He emerged once on 78, when Shafiq dropped a sharp chance at cover, and again when cutting Saeed Ajmal twice to move into the 90s.

A dab to third man - what else? - brought up the hundred just before the batting Powerplay became mandatory. He then found the odd boundary, a classy drive past mid-off and a rare, ungainly pull, but most importantly he stayed unbeaten till the end, not sweating at all.

Shoaib's work thus took a back seat. Amid standard turmoil this year, Shoaib has quietly managed as impressive a comeback as any of his previous ones. He still has the pace, but the shortened run-up and seemingly permanent limp, reduces the visual a little. The smarts are very much intact.

He stifled South Africa at the start, rolling in casually and mixing up some solid length bowling with excellent changes of pace; no less a man than Jacques Kallis, returning for Robin Peterson, was deceived by one. Colin Ingram could only pop another slower one back soon after.

This was the 11th ODI in a row Shoaib has played since his return earlier this year for the Asia Cup , the longest, unbroken stretch he has had since 2002 (joint-second longest ever in his career). Any questions over his fitness were forgotten in later spells. He gave one run in two overs during the middle, even making the set-as-cement Amla jump around. He then came back to rattle and shake Johan Botha, only a poor last over to regret. Eleven came off that, important in the big picture.

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NZ aim to put Bangladesh behind them

New Zealand were recently crushed 4-0 by Bangladesh in their one-day series and captain Daniel Vettori is hoping that the change in format to Test cricket, and the addition of new personnel for this Indian tour, will help his side erase those bad memories. New Zealand arrived in Ahmedabad today for a three-Test and five-ODI tour that begins on November 4 at Motera. It is their first bilateral visit since 2003.

"The Bangladesh tour was extremely disappointing," Vettori said. "We will try to rectify that in India. It's a fresh start for us: It's Test cricket and we have new players here and they have not been affected by what happened in Bangladesh."

"Daniel Vettori: "It's Test cricket and we have new players here and they have not been affected by what happened in Bangladesh." © AFP

New Zealand weren't allowed to shirk off Bangladesh from their psyche, or the comments from Mark Greatbatch, the selector and coach, who lashed out at his players recently, in what was otherwise a dull opening press conference. After failing to win a game against Bangladesh, Greatbatch said, "When you play badly like that you've got to front up. It's very devastating. We played like d****, really."

In an another moment of candour, he also said that, "India have only lost one of their last 13 Tests in India, so if you're gonna ask me what a good result is I would take two draws."

He was reminded of both in the press conference today. He brushed off the comments by saying that it was in the past and that the players are eager to do well in this series. He responded to his own "two draws" comment (does that mean he was looking to lose 0-1?) by saying that, "We are here to win. As Dan said, we have some new players in and this is a great opportunity for all of them. We didn't play to our standards against Bangladesh but we have to move on from there. And do well against India."

He then added, "It won't be easy." Indeed.

Rampant Razzaq stuns South Africa

There are match-winning centuries and there are Match-winning Centuries. You will travel far and wide, maybe even go back in time, but you will struggle to find a more remarkable game-stealing hundred than the one the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi saw tonight. An outrageous 72-ball 109 from Abdul Razzaq dragged Pakistan to a series-levelling target of 287 against South Africa, one ball and one wicket left.

It was scarcely-scriptable and only when Razzaq hit his tenth six in the last over, slogging Albie Morkel over midwicket to climax an unimaginable orgy of power-hitting, was a Pakistan win even worth contemplating; until then he had played to a backdrop of impending, imminent doom. To even get to that point needing 14 was a feat because for 99 overs Pakistan looked a distant second best; a solid, now-to-be-forgotten century from Colin Ingram, hands from Hashim Amla and JP Duminy and the continuing refusal of Pakistan's top order to turn up, the distinct story till then.

Shahid Afridi and Fawad Alam had tried gamely to make something of the disaster of 70 for 4 in the 19th over. The spinners were on, Afridi was around so inevitably some fun was had. When Afridi went in the 30th, the score at 136, still the best they could hope for was an honourable scrap.

Razzaq began quietly, expressive as a stone, and even a dance-down six off Robin Peterson four overs after Afridi left felt decorative. Alam, meanwhile, was getting bogged down by his own inability to clear a field. But South Africa relaxed, the pair stuck at it. Alam suddenly got going and Razzaq smoked a couple more sixes. By the 40th over, at 200 for 5, theoretically it looked possible - in this age of Twenty20 at least - even if, in reality, it didn't feel gettable.

But for once, Pakistan timed their Powerplay right and when Johan Botha was taken for 11 in the very first, a little tension crept in. Only a little though, for Alam went soon, Morne Morkel bowled two fine overs, there was the inevitable run-out and even though Razzaq had reached his fifty, it was done and dusted.

The 47th over, bowled poorly by Charles Langeveldt, was pivotal. Razzaq launched a sequence of length balls for three sixes in his favourite areas - flat-batted over extra cover, high over long-on and down the ground. Eighteen runs but no expression. Wahab Riaz's run-out off the last ball was merely collateral damage as 53 from 24 became 33 from 18.

Razzaq had decided at the fall of Alam that if the match was to be won, it would be by him alone, so with the tail in, several singles were turned down. With 25 needed from 12, Langeveldt was lofted down the ground and then pulled with cartoonish violence to midwicket. By the time Razzaq had taken the 14 needed off the last over he had scored 63 of the last 65, effectively from the 45th over onwards. Six sixes came in the last four overs, and only at the very end, after crashing a drive through point, did he let his emotions out, dropping his bat and trying to run but not knowing where to go.

That put to shade all that went before it. South Africa's real work had been done with the bat and Ingram's second ODI century was a real old-school effort. The start was edgy, even if it contained a classy punch through midwicket. But once he jumped down the track and lofted Razzaq down the ground, nerves were shed.

Abdul Razzaq made an outrageous game-stealing 109 © AFP

Thereafter, singles and doubles rolled by and so incongruously did he go about it that his fifty, at the halfway mark, was actually a surprise. He never fully got hold of the spinners but neither did they really trouble him and a pattern emerged. There was a missed stumping, but a ball previous, he had driven solidly through covers. Five times an edge was drawn and each time a boundary was the result. He might even have been run out on 73, but so settled was he that a century never looked in serious doubt. Every time the spinners erred, he took advantage, cutting and pulling efficiently. The running was the highlight, aggressive throughout.

But it was Amla who had set the tone and allowed Ingram such comfort. His ODI batting has been a revelation since his late debut in 2008; he now has nine fifties and five hundreds in just 34 games. At a 90-plus strike rate, they don't come slowly either. But most revelatory is the persistent quality of his stokeplay, unique and utterly compelling. So quick are the hands and wrists that the feet don't need to move.

He began with a burst of boundaries, four in the first two overs, rotating his bat like a wand for flicks and cuts through point. More cuts, whips and a rare drive through the off kept coming so that even when singles dried up, the runs didn't. A fifty, off just 47 balls, was merely statistical embellishment to a wondrous hour of batting, especially on a surface slow enough to hamper timing. He is not the modern macho ODI opener, and it cannot be disputed the format needs such flair over brutality and function.

Across the desert in Dubai, as Botha was winning the toss, Mohammad Amir's suspension was not being lifted and how his absence was felt by Pakistan. In turn, they were awful, complacent, solid and special. Shoaib Akhtar and Razzaq are a different proposition altogether than Amir and Mohammad Asif, as their opening spells - short, wide and inconsistent - proved.

There came brief spells of tight work, from the spinners, but never prolonged. The best they saved for last and it came from the impressive Wahab Riaz. Just when South Africa were looking to explode in the batting Powerplay, yorkers, short balls and cutters ensured only 25 runs came, Riaz picking up two of the three wickets to fall.

It felt a relative victory then, a twinkling cameo from Duminy highlighting its hollowness. A potential target of 300-plus became 287; Pakistan's best chase against these opponents was 223 and they had only chased down 250-plus twice in the last two years. And they certainly hadn't chased them down like they finally did here.

South Africa sweep series with easy win

Clinical South Africa sweep series with easy win

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera

October 27, 2010

Text size: A | A

South Africa 125 for 4 (Smith 38, Ingram 32, Duminy 20*) beat Pakistan 120 for 9 (Theron 4-27) by six wickets

	Shahid Afridi could not last long enough to make an impact © AFP Enlarge

Another day, another batting collapse from Pakistan. They were shot out for 120 and it was too little to defend even for their talented bowling attack. Their spinners posed a brief threat but South Africa shut them out to seal a 2-0 series win. Graeme Smith's 38 wasn't a fluent effort but he fought on to push South Africa close before Colin Ingram and JP Duminy applied the final touches.

When a struggling Smith was stumped off Saeed Ajmal, South Africa needed 53 from 40 balls, raising the possibility of an improbable twist in the tale. Ajmal had 3.4 overs left in his spell and there were two new batsmen in the middle but Ingram killed the contest with admirable coolness. He pulled Umar Gul for four before collecting three boundaries off Shoaib Akthar in the 17th over - a smashed six over long-on and two fours dragged to square-leg - to push South Africa ahead in the chase. He fell, holing out to long-on, but Duminy stayed put till the end.

Nothing went right from the start for Pakistan. Shahzaib Hasan continued to be a walking wicket and his exit, to an ugly slog across the line, opened the floodgates. Imran Farhat, who was bowled going for an over-ambitious heave, left one wondering whether the selectors were being too harsh on Imran Nazir. Like yesterday, it was Lonwabo Tsotsobe who removed the openers.

Again there was no middle-order revival. Mohammad Hafeez averages just 20.01 from 53 ODIs and 16.53 from 17 Twenty20s. Today was yet another day where he played a couple of pretty shots before combusting. He was caught at the crease, pondering whether to cut or steer, and lost his stumps before he could make up his mind. Umar Akmal ran himself out following a mix-up with Misbah-ul-Haq, and Shahid Afridi scooped Rusty Theron to deep point. Abdul Razzaq improved on his performance from yesterday - he swung a couple of sixes - but tapped a full toss straight to mid-off.

It was left to Misbah to push Pakistan over 100. It was another one of his meandering knocks that seemed to go nowhere until the last couple of overs when he showed some intent. Like yesterday, he initially struggled to find his timing but fought on to hold one end up. He went for the big shots in the end - there was a neat six over wide long-on, hit on a bent knee, and a shuffled swat to the backward square-leg boundary - but it was too little and too late.

It was difficult to rate South Africa's bowling in this context. Did Pakistan's shoddy batting display make the bowling look better than it was? It would be unfair, though, to not credit them for their discipline. Tsotsobe punctuated his natural left-armer's angle with the ones that straightened to collect early wickets, Johan Botha, as ever, strangled the run-flow in the middle overs with his variations, and Theron enhanced his reputation as a death-over specialist with three wickets in the last over. Pakistan's bowlers again attempted the improbable but it was a bridge too far to cross.