Proteas thumped as Pakistan wrap up series win with a game to spare

A gutsy half-century by experienced batter Heinrich Klaasen and a spectacular debut by fast bowler Kwena Maphaka were not enough as the Proteas fell short in a convincing 81-run defeat to Pakistan in the second ODI in Cape Town last night.

With the tourists having also won the opening match of the series in Paarl a couple of days earlier, they took an unassailable 2-0 lead with one match to play this weekend.

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Chasing 330 runs to win in an attempt to level the series at Newlands, most of the Proteas top order batters got off to good starts, but none of them managed to kick on until experienced middle-order star Klaasen dug his heels in at the crease.

Klaasen top-scored again for the Proteas – as he had done in the series opener in Paarl on Tuesday where he made 86 – by hitting his eighth career fifty in the ODI format.

He bashed 97 runs off 74 deliveries, including eight fours and four sixes, falling just three runs short of his fifth century.

However, while four other Proteas batters contributed more than 20 runs each, Klaasen did not receive enough support and the hosts were bundled out for 248 runs in the 44th over of their innings.

Pakistan innings

Earlier, after winning the toss and sending Pakistan in to bat, the Proteas struck in the first over of the match when seamer Marco Jansen had opener Abdullah Shafique caught behind by Klaasen for his second straight duck.

The tourists recovered well, however, with Babar Azam (73 off 95) joining captain Mohammad Rizwan (80 off 82) as they combined in a 115-run partnership for the third wicket.

Middle-order batter Kamran Ghulam went on to bash 63 off just 32, picking up the run rate for his team in the latter stages of their innings, as Pakistan reached 329 all out.

Maphaka was superb on his debut, with the 18-year-old speedster taking 4/72, while all-rounder Jansen grabbed 3/71 as the frontline pair spearheaded the Proteas attack.

Spin bowler Bjorn Fortuin, who replaced injured compatriot Keshav Maharaj in the squad ahead of the match, also did well to take 1/49, playing a key role in containing the opposition.

The SA team were sloppy in the field, however, dropping three catches in the last seven overs of Pakistan’s innings, with the visitors smashing 88 runs over that period as the lower half of their line-up clung to their wickets.

It was sufficient in the end to lay the foundation for a convincing victory and a series win, as Pakistan hit back from a 2-0 defeat in the preceding T20 International series.

The third and final ODI between South Africa and Pakistan will be played at the Wanderers on Sunday.