SA end Pakistan win streak

FAISALABAD: South Africa ended Pakistan’s winning streak to capture the third One-Day International cricket match  by 13 runs yesterday. Chasing a target of 244, South Africa won the match under the upgraded Duckworth /Lewis formula after Pakistan failed to complete their 50 overs in the stipulated time of three-and-a-half hours and bad light was offered to the batsmen. When play was stopped, South Africa needed to have scored 208 under the Duck-worth/Lewis scoring method. They had made 221 for six in 45 overs and were declared winners. South Africa’s victory ensured Pakistan’s lead in the five-match series was reduced to 2-1.

Pakistan’s stand-in skipper Yousuf Youhana promised to find a solution to the problem of his side’s slow over rate that possibly cost them the match. “We have a problem with the over rate. Maybe we are slow in the field and also because Shoaib (Akhtar) takes time to complete his over,” Youhana told Reuters. “But we will try to find a solution to this in the remaining two matches. If bad light had not stopped play we probably would have won the match,” he said. South Africa’s victory was built around a second wicket stand of 100 in 111 balls between skipper Graeme Smith (51 from 55, eight fours) and Jacques Kallis (62 from 80 balls, eight fours, one six). Jacques Rudolph (46 from 82 balls) then combined with Mark Boucher (24 from 32 balls) to add 49 valuable runs after South Africa lost three quick wickets.

Although paceman Shoaib Akhtar threatened to prevent the South African win with hostile bowling which won him figures of three wickets for 31 runs, in the end South Africa came through with Shaun Pollock (four) and Andrew Hall (ten) at the crease. Earlier, Yasir Hameed (72) and Razzak (46) helped Pakistan to a competitive total. South Africa, trailing 2-0 in the five-match series, produced a much imp-roved performance before another big crowd. Security was tight after South Africa nearly cancelled the tour due to fears of Islamic extremist atta-cks, and police were extra vigilant after the assassination on Monday of a prominent Sunni Muslim militant leader in the capital Islamabad.