South Africa succumbed to a stream of spinners to lose an ODI series in Pakistan for the first time yesterday.
The home side’s seven-wicket victory in Faisalabad saw them claim a 2-1 victory in the series, as they returned to type and put their faith in their spin bowling.
The Proteas were dismissed for 143 in less than 40 overs, suffering a dreadful batting collapse after their openers had shared a third consecutive fifty partnership.
Having won the toss for the first time on the tour, the decision to bat stand-in captain Matthew Breetzke was ultimately proved to be wrong. It certainly didn’t look that way while Quinton de Kock and Lhuan-dre Pretorius were putting on 72 for the first wicket.
However, Saim Ayub’s off-spin had suggested the surface — especially in the first innings — was sufficiently helpful for the slow bowlers, and once that first wicket partnership was broken, the floodgates opened for the home side.
Leg-breaks and googlies
After that opening partnership, the Proteas added only 71 runs in 22.3 overs, with Pakistan’s spinners sharing eight wickets between them. Wrist spinner Abra Ahmed did the majority of the damage, taking 4/27, with Proteas batters unable to come to terms with his mix of conventional leg-breaks and googlies.
De Kock, who made a half century in the first match, followed by an unbeaten 123 in the second ODI on Thursday, top scored with 53 yesterday. It was another demonstration of the left-hander’s all-round class, and his success in the ODI portion of his comeback certainly justifies his decision to renege on his international retirement.
“It’s a bit disappointing that we didn’t win the series,” said De Kock, who was named player of the series after scoring 239 runs.
It was always going to be easier for him to make an impact in the 50-over format, given he isn’t limited by time like he is in T20s, and, in fact, having batted for longer in the last week, it may benefit his T20 play.
De Kock will be back with the DP World Lions for the remainder of the T20 Challenge this month, which will provide more chances to find his rhythm before probably rejoining the Proteas for the ODIs and T20s in India in December.
A personal foundation
His form has also coincided with the forging of a first wicket partnership with Pretorius that led to stands of 98, 81, and 72 in the series. With all the options at the top of the order, Pretorius — who made his ODI debut in Pakistan — may miss out on the T20 World Cup next year but has laid a personal foundation for the ODI tournament here in 2027.
As disappointed as the players are by the series outcome, it is that broader context that holds greater importance for the Proteas, who had four players make their ODI debuts in Pakistan.
They’ve won series in Australia and England this year, thanks to their senior players, most of whom were allowed a break before the tour to India.
In their absence, De Kock; the strides made by Pretorius; Breetzke’s experience of captaincy; Corbin Bosch illustrating again his all-round value; and the return of Nandre Burger; have been the major highlights for the Proteas.
“It’s massive getting to experience these conditions. We can take a lot of lessons and confidence. It’s good to see what we’ve got in stock,” said Breetzke.
Are of concern
The area that will concern them is the spinners. While Nqaba Peter took three wickets in the second match, George Linde, Donovan Ferreira, and Bjorn Fortuin were only able to take five wickets between them.
Conditions certainly got easier yesterday for batting once the floodlights took effect in Faisalabad, with the South African spinners not getting the same amount of grip as their Pakistan counterparts.
Saim Ayub, after seeing off Burger’s tricky new ball spell, looked comfortable in scoring 77 as his team reached the target in the 26th over.
The Proteas have increased their player depth and given themselves more options as they build their ODI squad for the next World Cup.
After the Test series in India, the five-match T20 series will take precedence as coach Shukri Conrad looks to balance the squad for the February showpiece in the subcontinent.
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