Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Rizwan each scored dominant centuries to guide Pakistan to a six-wicket victory over South Africa at National Bank Stadium on Wednesday. The win secured Pakistan's place in the final of the Tri-Nation ODI Series, as they successfully chased down a challenging target of 353 runs.
The partnership set a new record for the highest fourth-wicket stand in a Pakistan ODI run chase. Agha played a brilliant knock, scoring 134 off 103 balls, including 16 fours and two sixes. Rizwan, unbeaten on 122 from 128 balls, guided Pakistan home with nine fours and three sixes.
Despite a shaky start, Pakistan recovered thanks to Agha and Rizwan’s historic partnership. Captain Babar Azam fell early for 23 runs, and Fakhar Zaman (41) and Saud Shakeel (15) were dismissed in quick succession. At 91/3, Pakistan’s chase looked precarious, but Agha and Rizwan steadied the ship.
The victory means Pakistan will face off against the winner of the other semifinal in the final of the Tri-Nation ODI Series, aiming to claim the trophy after a dominant performance.
Earlier, South Africa's captain, Bavuma, won the toss and chose to bat first, a decision that proved fruitful as the visitors put up 352/5 in their allotted 50 overs.
The opening partnership between Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi started strong, with the pair adding 51 runs before Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed de Zorzi for 21 runs off 18 balls.
Bavuma, joined by in-form Breetzke, continued the solid foundation with a 119-run partnership for the second wicket. Bavuma's innings was marked by 13 boundaries, and he was dismissed for 82 off 96 balls after being run out by Saud Shakeel’s direct hit.
Breetzke carried on with the momentum, scoring 83 runs off 84 balls, including 10 fours and a six. His wicket came in the 39th over when he was dismissed by Khushdil Shah, and shortly after, Afridi claimed the wicket of Wiaan Mulder for just two runs.
Despite the setbacks, Klaasen launched a powerful assault in the final overs, top-scoring for South Africa with a rapid 56-ball 87, including 11 fours and three sixes, pushing the total past 300. Klaasen's dismissal in the 48th over was the final blow to the innings.
Afridi was the standout bowler for Pakistan, taking 2 wickets for 66 runs in his 10-over spell. Khushdil Shah and Naseem Shah contributed with one wicket each.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Tayyab Tahir, Salman Agha, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Abrar Ahmed.
South Africa: Matthew Breetzke, Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi.
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