Pakistan condemned to six-wicket loss

South Africa A defeated Pakistan A by six wickets in the first match of the ‘A’ Team Triangular Series in Sri Lanka that also involves the hosts as the third team.

Carnage from the start

The damage started with the very first ball of the innings when opener Khurram Manzoor, who made his debut for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in 2008, was sent back to the pavilion by Rory Kleinveldt, which proved to be his only wicket of the match, as South Africa decided to bowl first.

Asad Shafiq (80) and Aamir Sajjad (77) scored half-centuries for Pakistan and tried their best to stabilise a precariously balanced start to the game with the highest partnership of the match standing at 137 runs. But the duo could not stand the likes of Juan Theron, the right-arm medium-fast bowler, who took the most crucial wickets in the Pakistan innings  and paved way for a comfortable chase for the South African batsmen as Pakistan’s bowlers toiled.

Low total poses no real threat

Pakistan’s total, 219 for seven, posed no real threat to the opponents as Colin Ingram scored a striking 85 to set his side for victory, before Mohammad Irfan took his wicket with much left too late.

Azeem starts a new chapter

New captain Azeem Ghumman did little with the bat and struggled as he introduced six bowlers in a desperate attempt to shake the South African batting order but none of the bowlers were able to do the trick like Theron. Mohammad Talha, Hammad Azam and Yasir Shah all took one wicket each.

With six wickets to spare, Dean Elgar, unbeaten on 47, lead South Africa to a comfortable victory to gain four points and get their tournament off to a perfect start.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2010.