South Africa's AB de Villiers (R) shakes hands with Pakistan's cricketer Younis Khan after winning the 5th and final ODI. PHOTO: AFP
BENONI: South African captain AB de Villiers hit an unbeaten 95 to guide his side to a series-clinching six-wicket win in the fifth and final one-day international against Pakistan at Willowmoore Park on Sunday.
De Villiers, who was dropped on one, overcame some hostile bowling on an unpredictable pitch as South Africa chased down Pakistan's 204 all out with six overs to spare.
On a day when most batsmen struggled to time the ball consistently, De Villiers made his runs off just 111 balls, hitting nine fours and a six.
A fourth wicket partnership of 87 off 88 balls with Farhaan Behardien (35) made South Africa's victory virtually certain after Pakistan's new ball bowlers, Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan, caused early problems on a pitch where some deliveries bounced alarmingly, while others kept low.
"It was a great team effort. I am in good form at the moment, but I am not probably timing it as well as I like to," said De Villiers, who was named man of the match and man of the series.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said his team should have scored more runs.
"I think it was a 250 pitch and it was gettable the way we started, but we lost wickets at crucial times. South Africa played really well," he said.
Pakistan seemed headed for a more competitive total when they reached 151 for four in the 35th over after winning the toss.
Ryan McLaren took three wickets in 13 balls to swing the match in South Africa's favour.
McLaren had Shoaib Malik caught at midwicket and three balls later, with the last delivery before the batting power play, he had big-hitting Shahid Afridi caught at deep square leg without scoring.
Pakistan's hopes then rested with their captain, Misbahul Haq, who had played a match-winning innings of 80 when Pakistan squared the series at 2-2 with a three-wicket win in Durban on Thursday.
As he had in Durban, Misbah started cautiously and he had scored only 24 runs off 46 balls when he was caught behind to become McLaren?s third victim.
McLaren finished with three for 32, with all his wickets coming in a three-over third spell which cost only five runs.
For the first time this season, South Africa fielded their two leading strike bowlers, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, in their one-day international team.
The pair had been rotated during a series against New Zealand and Morkel missed the first four matches against Pakistan because of a hamstring injury.
Although Steyn and Morkel only took one and two wickets respectively, they contributed to a much-improved South African bowling performance.
Despite an innings of 48 off 51 balls by Kamran Akmal, and a third wicket stand of 66 between Akmal and Younis Khan (29) the Pakistanis were unable to dominate the bowling at any stage during their innings after Misbah won the toss and decided to bat.
South Africa were without opening batsman and Test captain Graeme Smith because of what was described as a chronic left ankle injury which kept him off the field for most of Pakistan's run chase in Durban. He was replaced by 20-year-old left-hander Quinton de Kock.
De Kock looked out of his depth and was bowled by Junaid Khan for three, while Hashim Amla was unusually subdued in scoring 22 off 65 balls. With Colin Ingram bowled by off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez for 15, South Africa needed a partnership.
De Villiers edged Junaid low to Younis Khan at slip when he had one and the chance went down. The South African captain was soon into his stride as he took his aggregate for the series to 367 runs at an average of 91.75. He was named man of the match and man of the series.
Teams
South Africa: AB de Villiers (capt, wkt), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Colin Ingram, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Ryan McLaren, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Kamran Akmal (wkt), Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan.
COMMENTS (22)
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performs for the lost cause.when there is a cause he gets lost.this is afridi !!!!! he should better retire and spare us the anguish every time he fails . it would be the biggest service to pakistan cricket he can do . i have always been his die-hard fan but now limit is limit . our team needs to understand that blocking is not their way.wats the use of blocking the ball and then getting out for a mere 10 or 15 off 40 balls .some body needs to accelerate sensibly and rotate the stike as much as possible.
i agree with comments on Shahid Afridi. but i still has full believe in his abilities. all he needs to do is to play at least 15 balls with out taking any risk, afterwards he can plays his shorts & that's how he can be very productive at the later stages of the game. His fitness is good, his batting form has come back but he really needs to improve his bowling. he is still a match winner & can be very fruitful in the coming champions trophy. Younas, Shoaib Malik & imran farhat must retire now. time to bring in umer akmal. umar ameen, asad shafique & ahmed shahzad. Misbah i guess deserve one more chance as a captain in the champion trophy.
This is not new and being the nation we knew it very well because mostly this has been seen that in every important match against any strong and well-established team Pakistan cricket team always and as usual shows the most worst ever performance any where in the world as showed in last world cup against India in the semi-final in India and Afridi and Misbah please both of you have to be retired and only have to play domestic cricket and premier leagues of India,Bangladesh and Australia where you could collect millions of $$$$$$$$$ against your auctions..........
Ok when was the last time we won against South Africa anyway? I guess Younus and Afridi should not be playing ODI cricket as i personally want to see Asad, Umar Akmal and Haris Sohail having a longer run. I would like to replace Kami too but with whom? Sarfraz? Let a keeper have 2 good seasons with gloves and bat in domestic so then he can replae Kami. Kami might not be a safest keeper but he is a top order batter who scores at quite a high rate which Sarfraz can't do even on his best.
air out of pakistani baloon!! end result SA won test and ODI
Pakistani team felt flat because they were riding their luck throughout the series. Until Pakistan replaces Afridi with Hammad Azam and play both Ajmal and Rehman in ODIs, they are not getting anywehere. Hafeez is only good for dead pitches and it was an embarrassment for him to be Steyn's bunny throughout the series.
Nasir Jameshed: needs more chances Ahmed Shehzad: should be selected Asad Shafiq: Needs to play in place of Younis Khan Umar Akmal: Should replace Malik in some games at should bat at no. 3 Hafeez: Should not be made ODI captain under no circumstances Haris Sohail: Should open with Nasir Jamshed
@Zaid Hamid: LOL
Younis Khan, Akmal and Afridi is totally responsible for today's defeat. In fact, Younis should retire from 1 day to concentrate on 5 day and Afridi should retire for good will be good for the team green. In fact, Afridi is a brainless cricketer may be very proud of his past records. I wonder why Selection bosses keep on selecting this brainless cricketer. Afridi is like an old horse, performing once in a blue moon. Ooh Akmal again, he is totally worthless where keeping is concerned. And Selection bosses have no option as there are no wicket keepers in Pakistan. Wake up Selection bosses, learn from mistakes and rectify before the public whacks you out of the office.
I am surprised no one is mentioning that Younus Khan needs to retire before Afridi who managed to do his bit in the last game,Misbah who also did his bit in the series. But Younus - absolute zero apart from taking a couple of catches. Umar Akmal should have been played today in place of Younus - hotheaded youngster that he is, he can run and is enthusiastic about his team and can bat well once he gets going. Whats done is done. Pray that we don't fail in the Champions trophy!
Lala and tuk tuk should be kicked out.........
Heads should roll!
younus drop catch cost us match.
One day series are fixed and pre planned to generate maximum revenues.
Its clear that we have greedy senior players who always hinder attempt for youngsters. Also we are fools and we always fall for entertainers like afridi or Akmals but in reality they are not proper crickets and still didnt learn how to play situational cricket after playing for decades..
Its time to move on with youngsters, am sure they can best current national side if given opportunity.
I agree with some of the above posts that Afridi must retire now. However, he thinks that he has not done enough damage to Pakistani cricket team as yet so his mission continues. We do not need his type we need dependable solid cricketers. Just look at the batting of Amla and AB of SA and learn.
Lost because of Misbah - Period. Kick him out of team and appoint Kamran Akmal as Captain.
The cricket team at the moment is fine. There are always ups and downs. The batting just have to get a little responsible and the wicket keeper needs to be more responsible. Better luck next time :) Go green!
Its not afridi or misbah who needs to retire. Pakistani team has constantly failed to put up cometitive score on the board. We cant chase anything above 240. Its people lyk younis, akmal and imran farhat who need to make way for youngsters. they can only perform once after 5-10 matches to retain their place. its time we give our youngsters confidence and bring people like umar akmal, Nasir and asad shafiq. anyway best of luck team Pak for the champions trophy. But with this team its not possible even getting into the semis. i hope changes are made to the playing eleven.
Pakistani team, selectors and management would never learn. I have been a huge Afridi fan over the years but really think it's time for him to leave the team. We have young blood in Junaid Khan and he's an all rounder with super bowling skills. I think we need more reliable young blood and not any one hit wonders anymore.
Afridi...please retire! Please!!
Madness is doing same again and again and expecting different results. Applies well to Pak team selection.