KARACHI: A bowling masterclass by Nadine de Klerk saw South Africa thrash Pakistan by six wickets in their second women’s One-day International and seal the three-match series 2-0 at the National Bank Stadium here on Monday.

Medium-pacer de Klerk took four wickets with fellow fast bowlers claiming three vitims to reduce Pakistan to a paltry 168 runs after the hosts elected to bat first.

With the bat, de Klerk took South Africa over the line with 16 overs to spare, hitting 24 runs off 30 balls after Tazmin Brits (45 off 54) and Lara Goodall (36 off 53) gave them a good start.

Pakistan openers Muneeba Ali and Sidra Amin failed to damage the opposition before de Klerk set the tone for the rest of the South African bowlers when she got Muneeba and Sadaf Shams on consecutive balls.

In her next over, she got Sidra too.

Veterans Bismah Maroof and Pakistan captain Nida Dar also failed to settle, both getting out cheaply. Eventually, it was the experienced Aliya Riaz and Fatima Sana who came to their team’s aid.

The duo knitted a brilliant partnership of 114 runs — the highest seventh-wicket stand for Pakistan in ODIs.

Fatima’s 69 and Aliya’s 53 thus were pivotal to the hosts, who were 49-6 for when both got together on the crease.

When the partnership was broken, they had climbed to 163. The home side only added five runs to their total after that.

Chasing a sub-par total, the visitors were comfortably placed at the start of the chase. Even after captain Laura Wolvaardt lost her wicket after partaking in a 41-run partnership, South Africa remained dominantly ahead with Brits and Goodall in the middle.

However, as the innings progressed, the Pakistani spinners unleashed a counterattack; keeping the scoring rate in check and taking wickets periodically.

Despite the fight put up by the hosts in the second innings, the Wolvaardt-led side took the match and the series comfortably.

Scores in brief:

PAKISTAN 168 in 44.2 overs (Fatima Sana 69, Aliya Riaz 53; Nadine de Klerk 4-32, Masabata Klaas 3-14); SOUTH AFRICA 169-4 in 34 overs (Tazmin Brits 45, Lara Goodall 36; Sadia Iqbal 2-32)

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2023