Pakistan roar back through bowlers
Defending only 231 in 47 overs at the small Eden Park, Pakistan's left-arm quicks turned it on like only the ones from that part of the world can to win by 29 runs
Defending only 231 in 47 overs at the small Eden Park, Pakistan's left-arm quicks turned it on like only the ones from that part of the world can to win by 29 runs
Scorer: Gopi Rangarajan | Commentator: Rohan Sharma
9.56 pm: This has definitely been one of the better contests between full members in this World Cup so far. AB de Villiers, who has been in wonderful form as his position at the top of the tournament run-charts suggests, did his best to try and run Pakistan close, but in the end, the pressure got to them as Wahab , Irfan and Rahat began to apply the screws with some hostile, aggressive bowling.
Pakistan have almost turned a corner from their rather dire position they had found themselves in just a week and a half go, while South Africa will feel they missed out as they kept Pakistan to a reasonable total. But, Eden Park has continued to prove to be a troubling commodity, irrespective of batting first or chasing.
And how about Sarfraz, who managed to pick up a record-breaking six wickets, along with a spirited 49, in his debut World Cup match. We hope you thoroughly enjoyed this encounter, and don't forget that we will be having a live show of Match Point, so do tune into that as well!
Till the next time though, this is Rohan Sharma signing off, and if you had half as much fun reading the commentary as I had doing it, then I had twice as much fun doing the commentary then you had reading it.
Sarfraz Ahmed, Man of the Match: (Urdu) I am very thankful to the world and Pakistan for this opportunity. I want to thank all those who supported me, including my family. This is my World Cup debut match, but Mushie bhai (Mushtaq Ahmed) had good words for me to encourage me and told me to go out and enjoy myself.
Sarfraz Ahmed is the Man of the Match for his six catches and run-a-ball 49.
Presentation ceremony:
Bit of a delay due to rains. The ceremony takes place indoors as it is pouring at Eden Park.
AB de Villiers: "We are still in a good position in the group, but I never like to lose. We were shocking with the bat. We have been under pressure many times in the last few years and come out on top. I still believe we have the right group here to lift the trophy. It wasn't easy (batting under lights). Still, a good enough wicket to chase that down, no reason we shouldn't have chased it down. "
Misbah-ul-Haq: "This is a big win for us. Sarfraz played well [others also played well]. We were 30-40 runs short, but the bowlers did their job. The bowlers went for the kill, the only chance was to get wickets and get the opposition all out. Beating South Africa, who are playing really good cricket, after that everybody believes now, the players, the team, can take a lot of confidence from it. When runs are on board, it is always pressure on the opposition."
9.34 pm And just on cue, the heavens have opened up, almost as if to celebrate this significant World Cup victory for Pakistan, who now move to 6 points alongside South Africa in Pool B. South Africa threatened to get through the chase quite easily when Amla and Faf were in the middle, but from a position of 62 for 1, they ended up crumbling to 202 thanks to some aggressive fast bowling from Pakistan
Imran Tahir c †Sarfaraz Ahmed b Wahab Riaz 0 (7m 6b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0
SRD: "Shows the difference in approach from MSD and ABD"
Sarfraz has equalled the record for most catches in an ODI by a Pakistani wicketkeeper. Has picked up five so far, putting him alongside Moin Khan, Rashid Latif and Umar Akmal
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It might be just a brief glimmer, but after a miserable build-up to the World Cup, Pakistan are bowling like their exalted predecessors
Apart from keeping Pakistan's start steady at one end, Sarfraz Ahmed also freed up Umar Akmal to be used elsewhere, to provide his team the balance it lacked till now
AB de Villiers felt a lack of "electric vibe" before South Africa's match against Pakistan - and his post-match disgust revealed that things only got worse
Plays of the Day from the Pakistan v South Africa World Cup 2015 Group B match, in Auckland