CWC23:SA beat Pakistan by 1 wicket in a thriller match.
Delhi: Keshav Maharaj held his nerve to smash the winning runs for the Proteas, who had appeared to be on track until they lost four wickets for 25 runs with the finish line in sight.Pakistan pushed with all their might for the final wicket, but were unable to secure what would have been a famous victory under the Chidambaram lights.
Early, Babar Azam won the toss and decided to bat first at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Pakistan managed to put up 270 runs on the scoreboard after losing all its wickets. For Pakistan, Skipper Babar Azam (50), Saud Shakeel (52) and Shadab Khan (43) helped the Pakistani team score some runs. For the Proteas, Tabraiz Shamsi took 4 wickets, Marco Jansen picked 3 wickets, Gerald Coetzee took 2 wickets and Lungi Ngidi clinched one wicket.
Chasing 271, the Proteas lost de Kock early, but Temba Bavuma (28) and Rassie van der Dussen (21) kept the momentum going. Despite losing wickets in between, the Proteas cruised over Pakistan’s high tidal bowling assault, owing to Aiden Markram’s (91) magnificent knock.For Pakistan, Shaheen Shah Afridi picked up three wickets, while Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim and Usama Mir took two wickets each.
At the end, Keshav maharaj finished the game with a boundary on the second delivery of the 48th over and the Proteas win the match by 1 wicket with 16 balls remaining.
South Africa now leads the ICC points table with 10 points, one more than India. Pakistan, on the other hand, sits sixth with four points.
