MULTAN, Oct 26: A marvellous comeback show by the South Africans on Friday bamboozled Pakistan in the fourth One-day International at the Multan Stadium, leaving the series tantalizingly poised at 2-2 with the last ODI at Lahore deciding the winner.

Chasing a modest target of 231, the Proteas crusied to a seven-wicket victory, mainly due to a fabulous 159-run partnership between captain Graeme Smith (81) and an upgraded Shaun Pollock (90) which kept the Pakistanis at bay for most part of the innings.

From the outset Smith and Gibbs provided a fine start to South Africa, posting 65 in the first 10 overs against a struggling opening pace duo of Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul, with the dew factor coming heavily into play.

Leg-spinner Shahid Afridi, brought into the attack in the 11th over of the innings by skipper Shoaib Malik, provided the breakthrough on his very first delivery, trapping Gibbs leg-before for a 35-ball 39 that contained six boundaries.

Out came the dashing Pollock, elevated to one-down position in an impromptu decision by the visitors. And just how well it paid off is now history.

Putting all the opposition bowlers to the sword, Pollock added a quickfire 50 runs off 67 balls with his skipper to set the tone for victory. The pair went on to post their 100 off 110 balls with 15 boundaries and one six and finally crossed the 200-run mark in the 33rd over to completely demoralise the hosts in front of a full-house at this impressive stadium.

In the dying moments of the match, Rao Iftikhar got rid of both Smith and Pollock in quick succession but the fate of the game had already been sealed.

Pollock scored an 84-ball 90, studded with nine fours and a six off Umar before he holed out to Malik at deep mid-on. In the next over, Iftikhar accounted for Smith who was caught by Abdul Rehman at mid-wicket boundary for a 103-ball 81, laced with seven fours.

It was left to Jacques Kallis (6 not out) and A.B. de Villiers (1 not out) to hit the winning runs in the end with consummate ease.

Earlier, Shoaib Malik surprised critics and fans alike by choosing to bat first in a game where the team fielding second was bound to struggle because of heavy dew.

The woes of the hosts compounded when the Proteas made early inroads into their batting, reducing them to 38-3. Pakistan lost the two openers Yasir Hameed and Shahid Afridi for 10 and 0 respectively and were later jolted by a silly run-out of Mohammad Yousuf that tilted the balance in Proteas’ favour.

Afridi’s wicket gave the hard-working Makahya Nitini his 250th scalp in 162 ODIs.

A defiant fourth wicket stand between Younis Khan and skipper Malik helped the hosts cross the 50-run mark in 16.2 overs with Younis lifitng Pollock for a big six over long on.

Both the players took their team safely to the the three-figure mark in 27.3 overs with Younis completing a fine half-century.

But when the score reached 129, Kallis broke the valuable 91-run stand when he removed Malik for a 54-ball 45.

Smith brought back tall and fiery Andre Nel for his second spell and he justified the call-up with two quick dismissals in his very first over, reducing Malik’s army to 159-6.

He got the prize wicket of Younis Khan who faltered while pulling a chest-high delivery to give an easy catch to Gibbs at mid-wicket. The experienced middle-order batsman resisted the opposition for nearly 30 overs in a well-compiled 82 off 110 balls, smashing six fours and two sixes.

On the last ball of his over, Nel forced Misbah (7) to nick one off an outswinger straight to Mark Boucher. A score of 200 and above looked an improbability at the time for Pakistan. However, Kamran Akmal (28) and Abdul Rehman (31) frustrated the tourists with an enterprising partnership to take their side to a respectable 230.

Pakistan included Mohammad Asif in place of Sohail Tanvir for this fourth game while the Proteas brought in Jean Paul Duminy and Nel in place of Justin Kemp and Charl Langeveldt.

Scoreboard

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