De Kock’s century seals South Africa’s superb success over Pakistan
By Nawaz Gohar ; Pakistan endured a crushing defeat at the hands of South Africa in the second One-Day International at Faisalabad, as Quinton de Kock’s masterful unbeaten century guided the visitors to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory with 10 overs to spare, leveling the three-match series 1-1.
De Kock, returning to the national side after nearly a year, marked his comeback in spectacular fashion with a superb 123 not out, his 22nd ODI century, as South Africa chased down Pakistan’s 270-run target in just 40.1 overs at the Iqbal Stadium.
The left-hander’s fluent innings, decorated with eight fours and seven sixes, anchored South Africa’s run chase from the outset. He received strong support from Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who struck a quickfire 46 off 40 balls, and Tony de Zorzi, who added a brisk 76 from 63 deliveries. Together, De Kock and De Zorzi built a match-winning 154-run partnership, ensuring South Africa’s smooth path to victory.
Earlier, Pakistan’s innings faltered at the start as Nandre Burger produced a fiery spell to dismantle the top order. He removed Fakhar Zaman for a duck, Babar Azam for 11, and Mohammad Rizwan for 4, leaving Pakistan reeling at 23 for 3 within the first five overs.
Salman Ali Agha fought valiantly with a composed 69 off 105 balls, steadying the innings alongside Mohammad Nawaz, who scored a brisk 59 off 59, including four sixes and three fours. Faheem Ashraf chipped in with a quick 28 off 18 balls, helping Pakistan post a respectable 269 for 9 in their 50 overs.
For South Africa, Burger emerged as the standout bowler with impressive figures of 4 for 46, while Corbin Bosch and Nqabayomzi Peter took two and three wickets respectively. Pakistan’s fielding, however, proved costly as they dropped three crucial catches, including one of De Kock early in his innings, a miss that turned the tide decisively in South Africa’s favor.
It is worth noting that South Africa fielded a relatively young side in this series, missing several of their senior players, yet managed to produce a dominant all-round performance to level the series. The third and final ODI will be played at the same venue on Saturday, where both teams will battle for the series decider.
Pakistan Squad: The national cricket team is led by Shaheen Shah Afridi in today’s match, while the team includes Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Muhammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Hussain Talat, Muhammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Muhammad Wasim Jr. and Naseem Shah.
South Africa squad; Matthew Bratzke is the captain of South Africa in the second ODI of the series, while the team includes Quinton de Kock, Lewandowski Pretorius, Tony de Zorzi, Sinitamba Qishele, Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Karbin Bosh, Bjorn Fortin, Nandre Berger and Nkabayomzi Peter.
