FAISALABAD: Buoyed by their victory in the series opener here at the Iqbal Stadium, a confident Pakistan side will look to seal the three-match series when they face South Africa in the second One-day International at the same venue on Thursday.
Chasing 264, Pakistan won a tense first ODI by two wickets on Tuesday with only a couple of balls to spare on a pitch that assisted spinners in the later stages of both the innings.
Having elected to field first, the Shaheen Shah Afridi-captained hosts were facing a tough situation when Matthew Breetzke’s South Africa reached 98-0 as their openers dominated the proceedings. Later, the tourists were 191-3 in 33 overs before they suffered a late collapse as the home spinners took charge.
The pitch is likely to favour batsmen early on though spinners could again play a key role in the later stages of the match at the traditionally dry surface.
For South Africa, the focus will be on adapting quickly to the conditions and countering Pakistan’s bowling which has depth as well as variety.
The touring batsmen, in particular, will be looking to build partnerships and produce a better show with greater discipline against the likes of Shaheen, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz and part-time spinner Saim Ayub, who earned the player-of-the-match award for his all-round show – 2-39 in eight overs and 39 runs – in the first game.
The South African players attended a training session at the Iqbal Stadium on Wednesday while the Pakistan team opted to rest.
The tourists participated in warm-up exercises followed by batting, bowling and fielding practice drills.
‘CREDIT TO BATTERS’
Earlier, talking at the post-match ceremony, Shaheen lauded the batters for their match-winning show in the series opener.
“Our bowlers came back in the last 10 overs to restrict South Africa to a reasonable total. But I will give credit to our batters who played well on a wicket that had both turn and swing [in the latter stages of the innings],” Shaheen said.
“They handled the situation well.”
Replying to a question regarding the tense victory in the series opener, the Pakistan skipper said, “That always happens in cricket but we’ll try to make it not happen again.”
Speaking at a news conference after the first ODI, Pakistan wicket-keeper/batter Mohammad Rizwan defended the hosts’ decision to bowl first.
“The decision to bowl first was taken by us while keeping in view the prevailing situation [at the ground]. It was a combined decision by us,” Rizwan told reporters while answering a question.
“Plus there was the dew factor. All of us had the same opinion that we should bowl first keeping in mind that dew will come into play in the latter stages of the day. The batting looked easy early on in the first innings but then came the dew factor.”
Responding to a question, Rizwan said that the hosts should have wrapped up the match earlier as Pakistan were well set at 196-3 in the 39th over with Rizwan (55) and Salman Ali Agha (62) at the crease.
“Yes, we [Salman and Rizwan] should have finished the game. Actually, the wicket was behaving awkwardly where the ball was skidding, gripping and bouncing and we were set.
“We will try not to repeat the mistakes and finish the game in future.”
Regarding the historic international match that the Iqbal Stadium hosted after 17 years, Rizwan said, “On our part, wherever we play at home — including Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi or Faisalabad — we get the same support from the crowd.
“It is what message the other [visiting] teams get from our crowds matters the most.”
Talking to reporters after the first match, South African pacer Corbin Bosch said that the wicket was good for spinners.
“It was a new ball wicket, and was tough [to bat on]. The ball [particularly in the latter stages] turned and spinners played a crucial role for both the teams,” Bosch told reporters.
The pacer believed that South Africa were slightly short of setting Pakistan a winning target, saying, “We were perhaps 15 runs short on this wicket”.
