Saim Ayub’s maiden ODI ton and Salman Ali Agha’s all-round brilliance powered Pakistan to a thrilling victory over South Africa in the first game of the three-match ODI series at Boland Park on Tuesday.
Set to chase 240, Salman Agha knocked the winning runs for Pakistan on the third delivery of the final over when he smashed Marco Jansen for a four.
The touring side had a dismal start to their innings as they had lost four wickets for just 60 runs in 19.1 overs.
But a defiant 141-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Agha and Saim turned the tide back in Pakistan's favor.
Leading the stand was opener Saim, who remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with 109 off 119 deliveries, studded with 10 fours and three sixes.
His dismissal in the 42nd over, however, sparked a brief collapse, which had reduced the touring side to 209/7 in 44.3 overs, needing a further 31 runs.
But Agha's determination, coupled with the support from Naseem Shah (nine not out), took the visitors to glory with three balls and as many wickets to spare.
Agha, who took four wickets with the ball, scored an unbeaten 82 off 90 deliveries, laced with four fours and two sixes.
Kagiso Rabada and Ottneil Baartman bagged two wickets each for South Africa, while Tabraiz Shamsi and Jansen chipped in with a wicket apiece.
Earlier, South Africa’s stand-in captain Aiden Markram chose to bat first after winning the coin toss against Pakistan’s formidable bowling attack.
Markram (35) and Heinrich Klaasen then joined hands to take the hosts out of the trouble with a 73-run stand for the fifth wicket before Saim Ayub broke the budding partnership.
Klaasen then waged a lone war, playing a brilliant knock of 86 runs from 97 balls, which featured seven fours and two sixes, to take his team’s total beyond the 200-run mark.
Shaheen Shah Afridi ended Klaasen’s knock before Kagiso Rabada (11) and Ottneil Baartman (10*) added crucial 21 runs for the ninth wicket.
Rabada got run out on the last ball of the innings as South Africa finished with 239-9.
Salman Ali Agha led Pakistan’s bowling attack with his figures of 4-32, while Abrar Ahmed took two wickets.
The decision seemed to bear fruits initially as Tony de Zorzi and Ryan Rickelton built a 70-run opening stand in 59 balls before Salman Ali Agha turned things around with his off-spin bowling.
De Zorzi scored 33 off 25 with the help of six boundaries, while Rickelton struck seven fours on his way to a 38-ball 36.
Salman removed both batters in successive overs, followed by the wickets of Rassie van der Dussen and Tristan Stubbs (1) in his fourth over to leave South Africa reeling at 88-4.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has been rested and Aiden Markram is leading the team in his absence. Meanwhile, Keshav Maharaj, who was initially named in the Playing XI had a late niggle and was replaced by Andile Phehlukwayo.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s star players Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who missed the tour of Zimbabwe, have been returned to the side.
Meanwhile, Abrar Ahmed, who made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe last month, has been selected as the sole spinner in the Playing XI
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf
South Africa: Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Tabraiz Shamsi