Pakistan Clinch Nail-Biting 1st ODI Victory Over South Africa in Historic Faisalabad Contest

Pakistan completed a nervy chase against South Africa to register victory in the 1st ODI at Faisalabad. The green shirts once again panicked at the end, however, a brave effort from the tail-enders steered them home. Salman Ali Agha was named Player of the Match, as his innings of 62 runs allowed Pakistan to win the game by 2 wickets.

South Africa performed exceptionally well despite scoring a below-par total in the first innings. Quinton de Kock remained their star batter, as he marked a strong return to ODI cricket by scoring 63 runs.

After winning the toss, Pakistan immediately decided to bowl first. They knew about the ground conditions, which is why they opted to chase in the second innings. South Africa, on the other hand, was already planning to bat first. Their openers started the innings briskly as they looked to post a big total in the 1st ODI. The duo of Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Quinton de Kock batted smartly, disrupting all the plans of Pakistan's bowling attack.

Both openers scored superb fifties, with debutant Lhuan-dre Pretorius making 57, while Quinton de Kock starred with a remarkable 63. They were going along nicely until Saim Ayub got the breakthrough in the middle overs, sending Pretorius back to the dugout. However, his dismissal didn’t change the plans of Quinton de Kock, as he kept on scoring nicely.

The star batter then fell cheaply in the 25th over when Naseem Shah came on to bowl. Once de Kock got out, the South African batting lineup faltered badly. Their middle order looked completely out of form, as Pakistan spinners kept continuous pressure on them. Due to this, they lost regular wickets, which brought the scoring rate down.

The captain, Matthew Breetzke, tried to steady the innings from one end, however, he also got out in the 44th over after making 42 runs. Some late order push was then provided by Corbin Bosch, as his innings of 41 eventually allowed South Africa to post 263 on the board at the end of the first innings.

When Pakistan came out to bat, they started the innings nicely. Both Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub played confidently, as they knew the ground conditions pretty well. They were steering the chase smoothly, until Donovan Ferreira made the breakthrough and sent back both openers cheaply.

A strong partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha then brought Pakistan back into the game. Mohammad Rizwan was impressive in today’s match, as his intent to score runs during the middle overs was clear. He scored a brilliant fifty on 74 balls, until Corbin Bosch removed him in the 39th over.

After the dismissal of Rizwan, things started to become a bit tense for Pakistan, however, Salman Ali Agha held his nerves. He took the game deep by playing cautiously, as wickets were falling at the other end regularly. He was looking all set to finish the match, until Lungi Ngidi removed him in the 47th over to give South Africa a ray of hope.

The dismissal of Agha panicked Pakistan, as they lost two more wickets at the end of the innings. The chase suddenly became difficult for the home team, however, Shaheen Shah Afridi held his nerves to absorb the pressure. He played smartly in the last over when Pakistan needed just four runs. The skipper made sure to chase the target without losing more wickets, as he and Naseem won the match for Pakistan after hitting the winning runs.  

Both teams will now meet in the 2nd ODI at the same venue on November 6. The visitors will work hard to win the next match, while the green shirts will try to rectify their mistakes in batting to seal the ODI series.