Pakistan’s wily spinners gave a masterclass in slow bowling to bamboozle South Africa’s batting lineup and lead their side to a 66-run victory in the second one-day international in the United Arab Emirates on Friday.
Set a modest 210 to win, South Africa were bowled out for 143 in 40.4 overs as Pakistan’s slow bowlers took a combined six wickets at a run rate of under three an over to level the five-match series at 1-1.
Saeed Ajmal recorded figures of 2-15 in eight overs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium as the Proteas had no answer to his guile on a wicket that was taking turn, but not excessively so.
Photo: AFP
Veteran Shahid Afridi finished with 3-26 and Mohammad Hafeez took 1-25 in his 10 overs as Pakistan restricted the runs and piled pressure back onto the South African batsmen.
Giant paceman Mohammad Irfan got in on the act too, taking 3-53 as Pakistan bounced back from their loss in Wednesday’s series opener.
None of the South African batsmen looked comfortable at the crease, with only Ryan McLaren showing some resistance with 29 not out.
“It was a really good performance, especially after being bowled out for a low score. The team fought hard, the bowlers did the job for us again,” Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said at the post-match presentation.
“The spinners were brilliant, but altogether it was a good showing from the pace bowlers as well. We still need to improve performances and cannot relax after this,” he said.
TOOTHLESS: Bologna never looked like finding a way back, and Antonio Conte and his substitutes were waiting to celebrate long before the final whistle SSC Napoli on Monday lifted the Italian Supercoppa with a 2-0 win over Bologna in Riyadh, David Neres netting both goals to earn the league champions a deserved victory over the toothless Coppa Italia winners. Neres opened the scoring with a stunning strike from distance six minutes before halftime and found the net again in the 57th minute when Bologna were caught trying to play out of defense. “We came here as champions of Italy, we wanted this trophy and we showed it with a great performance,” Napoli forward Matteo Politano told Mediaset. “We could have scored a few more goals, but
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
RSS