Shamsi, Jansen keep a check on Pakistan's charge

Probing spells from Tabraiz Shamsi (4-60) and Marco Jansen (3-43) prevented Pakistan from posting a daunting total in their World Cup fixture against South Africa in Chennai on Friday (October 27). Most of the Pakistan batters got starts - skipper Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel produced fifties - but none of them batted deep enough to make a significant impact on the innings. Shamsi and Jansen led South Africa's quest of wickets and strikes at regular intervals meant that Pakistan, who got to 270, could never really break free except in one or two rare passages of play.

Having opted to bat, the start didn't go to plan for Pakistan as openers Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique both fell in the first Powerplay to Jansen. With the pitch being the same as the track used in the New Zealand-Bangladesh fixture, there was something in it for the pacers and spinners alike. It had slowed down a touch due to the repeated usage but there were still were runs to be had. Despite the early wickets, Pakistan batted positively through Babar and Mohammad Rizwan. The run rate wasn't outrageously high but a steady momentum was maintained by the pair with Rizwan in particular going at over run-a-ball. However, the wicket-keeper batter was sent packing by Gerald Coetzee to break the crucial stand.

Babar continued to bat with assurance but saw his partners wasting their starts. Iftikhar Ahmed had a scratchy phase out in the middle but even he fell just when it appeared like he was getting settled. The Pakistan skipper then perished to a loose shot just after getting to fifty to put Pakistan in further strife. Shamsi, brought in for Kagiso Rabada who was rotated due to the conditions, bowled attacking lines and while he did leak some runs, the bargain for wickets was a fair deal for him and South Africa. His strike of Babar was massive as the Pakistan no.3 was looking set for bigger things.

At 141/5 with almost half the overs left in the tank, Pakistan were staring at a possibility of being bowled well inside their allotted 50 overs. Shakeel along with Shadab Khan rescued the innings with a counterattacking 84-run stand that put the pressure back on South Africa's bowlers. Both batters used their expertise against spin to negate South Africa's slow men with Keshav Maharaj coming in for some harsh treatment. Shamsi also conceded a few but it was he who broke the partnership eventually by dislodging Shakeel. Pakistan were well on course for a total in the 280-300 range but once the pair got separated, the innings fell apart.

South Africa's bowlers ensured that the lower order was cleaned up without much fuss and in the end, Pakistan were bowled out with 20 deliveries remaining. It's still a workable total but Babar's men will regret not batting out their entire quota of overs, especially given that they have a lower total than what they did in the defeat against Afghanistan at the same venue.

Brief scores: Pakistan 270 in 46.4 overs (Saud Shakeel 52, Babar Azam 50; Tabraiz Shamsi 4-60, Marco Jansen 3-43) vs South Africa