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Fakhar Zaman was outstanding. (Photo by Christiaan Kotze / AFP)
Temba Bavuma chose his beloved Bullring and Cricket South Africa’s ninth Pink Day as the setting to begin his tenure as Patron of the Proteas ODI, playing an important role in helping his team achieve a 17-run victory in the second ODI against Pakistan. on Sunday.
The victory ensures that South Africa enters Wednesday’s climax at Centurion with the series tied at one-for-all and also drew a line below two consecutive losses in what is generally a key event on the local cricket calendar.
Bavuma led a South African batting feast in an eerily quiet Wanderers, though, on an individual level, they were overshadowed by Pakistan starter Fakhar Zaman, whose magnificent 193 was ultimately to no avail.
Nonetheless, it was the Proteas captain who provided plenty of feel-good vibes, expertly playing the role of batting anchor without slowing things down and displaying his wide range of shots all over the wicket.
It seemed ready for its third international century, and second in ODI, before attempting an ambitious achievement of a shorter delivery than it had to reach and only made it to the center of the market, starting for 92 out of 102 deliveries.
SCORE | Proteas v Pakistan, 2nd ODI
Kock’s Quinton overcame a quiet and sometimes awkward start to play some meaty shots in his 80 of 86 deliveries, an ideal note to finish before heading off to the Indian Premier League.
In fact, he too seemed willing to triple figures before dragging the ball on his stumps.
However, it was Rassie van der Dussen, the hero of the Centurion Proteas, who proved to be the biggest revelation of the hosts’ hitting effort with a 60 of 37 balls.
Overflowing with confidence, the 31-year-old revealed his more adventurous side, attacking from the start.
There was a Faheem Ashraf high that he broke while waiting on his back foot, before performing a Villiers AB-style magic piece on one knee to hit Mohammad Hasnain long and wide.
David Miller, who finished undefeated 50 of 27, had fun too, notably hitting Faheem for two consecutive sixes and putting the finishing touches on an excellent hitting effort that ended at 341/6.
While the canny Haris Rauf did his best to keep things at bay in death, finishing 3/54, Pakistan was not inspired by the field and did themselves no favors by leaving Aiden Markram (39) and, what more importantly, to Van der Dussen. your first installment.
Anrich Nortje’s opening spell, which featured the vital scalp of Pakistan’s captain and hitting mainstay Babar Azam, ripped the heart out of the visitors’ chase before the Proteas disconcertingly lost most of their intensity.
Fakhar, who had fluently managed to hit triple figures with 107 balls, exploded when he launched a listless attack lacking in ideas, eclipsing Herschelle Gibbs’ 175 as the highest individual score on the ground.
Sixteen and eighteen four finally flew off his sword, as he particularly liked the twist of Tabraiz Shamsi’s left arm, though the locksmiths weren’t safe from his assault either.
Unfortunately for the southpaw, he simply had too much to do as South African bowlers could count the lucky stars that hit the bat.
