Amla, De Villiers blaze away in new playing kit as SA beat Pak
Captain AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla set a record stand for the third wicket and South Africa survived Shahid Afridi’s onslaught to win the third one-day international by 34 runs on Sunday.
The victory earned South Africa a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Afridi smashed five fours and seven sixes in his blistering knock of 88 off 48 balls before Pakistan was bowled out for 309 in 48.1 overs after centuries from de Villiers (128) and Amla (122) had spurred South Africa to 343-5.
De Villiers and Amla put on 238 runs off 182 balls to better the mark of 237 set by India’s Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar against Kenya at Bristol during the 1999 World Cup.
Seamer Wahab Riaz recorded Pakistan’s worst ever bowling figures in an ODI with 2-93.
Earlier, De Villiers and Amla needed only 182 balls to better the mark of 237 set by India’s Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar against Kenya at Bristol during the 1999 World Cup.
De Villiers scored 128 off 108 balls with 12 fours and three sixes, while Amla hit 122 off 113 balls with nine fours and a six.
Amla successfully used the television review to overturn an lbw decision before South Africa had scored, and he was dropped on 36 by Mohammad Hafeez at point.
Mohammad Irfan took 2-34, while left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz, playing his first ODI in a year, was hammered for 93 runs for the wickets of Amla and Faf du Plessis.
Pakistan leveled the five-match series at Centurion on Friday with a six-wicket win after South Africa won the first ODI by 125 runs a week ago.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq’s decision to field first looked on track when 2.16 meter (7-foot-1) Irfan removed Graeme Smith (3) and Colin Ingram (17) as South Africa struggled to 42-2 in the 14th over. But once the spinners came on, along with Riaz, Amla and de Villiers scored at will.
Brief Scores
South Africa: 343-5 (AB de Villiers 128, Hashim Amla 122, Faf du Plessis 45; Mohammad Irfan 2-34, Wahab Riaz 2-93) beat Pakistan: 309 (Shahid Afridi 88, Mohammad Hafeez 57, Wahab Riaz 45; Ryan Mclaren 3-56, lonwabo Tsotsobe 3-74, Robin Peterson 2-51) by 34 runs.