Allround Phehlukwayo stars for Proteas

There was great drama at Kingsmead in Durban as an excited crowd of 12 000 watched Rassie van der Dussen and Andile Phehlukwayo take the Standard Bank Proteas to a five-wicket victory in a topsy-turvy second Momentum ODI on Tuesday night.

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Phehlukwayo was made man-of-the-match after notching his best efforts with both ball (4-22 in 9.5 overs) and bat (69* in 80 balls) in ODIs. His unbroken sixth-wicket partnership with Van der Dussen (80* in 123 balls) realised 127 runs off 168 balls as South Africa reached their victory target of 204 with eight overs to go.

If Phehlukwayo, who struck seven fours and two sixes in his innings, grabbed the banner headlines, it was Van der Dussen (nine fours) who made a huge bid to be included in the World Cup squad. The bizhub Highveld Lions’ player has now struck 93 and 80* in his first two ODIs for his country. In Durban he was the calm, secure centre of a Proteas’ fightback with the bat that finally earned victory.

"What you look for in new players is composure and calmness at the crease. We're looking for big-match players. He's smashing that door down for a permanent position in our strongest XI," said South African captain Faf du Plessis.

The win levels up the five-match series after Pakistan won the first match by five wickets in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. The next game is at Centurion on Friday.

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Both teams had opportunities to win the match. Pakistan, who were put in to bat by Du Plessis, were on the ropes at 112 for eight before Hasan Ali and captain Sarfraz Ahmed belted a national record 90 in 80 balls for the ninth wicket to take the visitors to 203 all out and just a sliver of hope.

"There were too many soft wickets," Sarfraz said of Pakistan's top-order batting. "Hasan Ali batted very well. We had a chance at 80 for five. We needed one more wicket."

SPLENDID SPELL

The Pakistan fightback continued when the Proteas began their innings with a splendid opening spell by Shaheen Shah Afridi who took a wicket in each of his first three overs to reduce South Africa to 29 for three. Hashim Amla, having driven two boundaries square on the offside, was then beaten by a superb inswinging delivery from the left-arm paceman that went through the gate and shattered his stumps.

The next man to go was fellow opener Reeza Hendricks who nicked a delivery that went across him, as did Du Plessis in Afridi’s next over.

David Miller and Van der Dussen began to repair the damage with a partnership of 51 in 53 balls before Miller, playing too early, clipped an innocuous delivery from offspinner Shadab Khan straight to Imam-ul-Haq at midwicket. It was a disappointing end to a fine cameo in which the lefthander struck five beautifully timed fours in his 26-ball 31.

If that put the match back on an even keel, Shadab’s next delivery, which clean bowled Heinrich Klaasen, tipped the balance Pakistan’s way as the Proteas fell to 80 for five.

DRS REPRIEVE

The last recognised batsman, Phehlukwayo, joined Van der Dussen in the 15th over but the Proteas seemed in deep trouble when the total had reached 92 in the 19th over when Phehlukwayo was adjudged leg before to Shadab. The batsman immediately asked for a review and he was spared by millimetres with the ball just missing his leg stump.

It was always clear that Pakistan needed to take 10 wickets to win the match as the target they had set was a modest one, but, try as they might, they were unable to break the partnership. Phehlukwayo, who was dropped twice and chanced his luck on a number of occasions, always tried to be aggressive, but it was the ice-cool Van der Dussen who controlled the partnership.

The dominant feature of the Pakistan innings, until Hasan and Sarfraz got together, was the soft manner of dismissals among the top-order batsmen, with Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Shadab all falling to poor strokes. Only Fakhar Zaman, who struck 26 – the third highest total of the innings – could be said to have been got out, fending a sharp lifter from Duanne Olivier to David Miller at point.

With Pakistan all but out for the count, it was Hasan and Sarfraz who saved the team’s blushes. Hasan, the dominant partner, recorded his second ODI half-century and biggest score, striking five fours and three sixes in his 45-ball 59. In accordance with the tone of his brave innings, his was the last wicket to fall, superbly caught on the long-on boundary by Faf du Plessis to give Phehlukwayo his fourth wicket.

The allrounder also took the wicket of Sarfraz for 41 to end the record ninth-wicket partnership for Pakistan, beating the 73 recorded by Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Sami against South Africa in 2006/7.

Phehlukwayo, who plays his domestic cricket in Durban, bowled with good discipline on the stodgy surface . At one stage the right-arm medium-pacer bowled 18 consecutive dot balls, so great was his hold over the Pakistan batsmen.

He was given excellent assistance by left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi who at one stage had taken 3-28 off seven overs before conceding the same number of runs off his last three overs at the height of the Hasan/Sarfraz storm.

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SOUTH AFRICA: Hashim Amla, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Faf du Plessis (capt), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Dane Paterson, Tabraiz Shamsi, Duanne Olivier

PAKISTAN: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt & wk), Hussain Talat, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi