ODI World Cup 2023 Twitter Reactions

‘Dukh Dard Pida Kasth ‘ – Fans react as South Africa beat Pakistan by 1 wicket in ODI World Cup 2023

Pakistan is on the cusp of an early exit from the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament after suffering a heartbreaking loss to South Africa by one wicket in Chennai on Friday.

author-image
Sarah Andrew
New Update
pak

Pakistan Cricket (Source-Twitter)

South Africa climbed to the top of the table as they beat Pakistan in a thrilling game on Friday. It was yet another loss for Pakistan as they now stand in the brink of exit from the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament.

South Africans held their nerves to win the game by 1 wicket in what is already the best game of the tournament. Babar Azam won the toss and chose to bat first and there was one change as Hasan Ali was replaced by Mohammad Wasim Jr.

Temba Bavuma was back as he replaced Reeza Hendricks, while Tabraiz Shamsi and Lungi Ngidi came in for Kagiso Rabada and Lizaad Williams. With this win South Africa now have gone to top of the table with better run-rate.

South Africa registers one-wicket win

Batting first Pakistan were in early trouble when they lost their openers with the score reading 38/2. Marco Jansen’s short ball did the damage as Shafique was caught by Ngidi for 9. The left-arm struck again to get rid of Imam-Ul-Haq for 12 caught by Klaasen. 

Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan then added 48 runs for the 3rd wicket before Rizwan fell Coetzee for 31 runs. Iftikhar Ahmed came out with aggressive intent as he scored 21 before falling to Shamsi.

The left-arm wrist spinner then got the huge wicket of Babar Azam who was out for exactly 50 runs. This was the third successive half-century for the Pakistani skipper in ODI World Cup 2023 tournament. Shamsi ended the day with figures of 4/60 from his 10 overs.

Just when the South Africans looked like taking control, Shadab Khan and Saud Shakeel joined forces. The pair added 84 runs for the 6th wicket before Shadab Khan was out for 43. Saud Shakeel top scored with a run-a-ball 52 runs with the help of 7 fours. Mohammad Nawaz batted well to contribute with 24 runs as Pakistan were all out for 270 runs.

Chasing 271 to win, Quinton De Kock and Temba Bavuma began with a frenetic pace, De Kock was the first batter to be dismissed as he was out for 24 runs from 14 balls with 5 fours. Bavuma scored 28 runs before he was dismissed by Mohammad Wasim Jr caught by Saud Shakeel.

Rassie Van Der Dussen was unlucky to be given out LBW when he was on 21 and fell to Usama Mir. Aiden Markram kept going as he was showing his class with the bat once again. Heinrich Klaasen scored 12 runs while David Miller scored 29 and fell against the run of play to give Pakistan hope.

Marco Jansen struck Haris Rauf for a beautifully timed six before falling in the next ball for 20. Markram then mistimed a shot as he was caught by Babar Azam off Usama Mir for 91 to bring the men in the green right back into the contest. 

Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf then ran through the lower order as the game entered its nail-biting climax. For the first time in the ODI World Cup 2023 a game had the people at the edge of their seats. The win came when Mohammad Nawaz saw Keshav Maharaj hit a four down the leg side to win the game for South Africa by one wicket.

Here's how the fans reacted - 

 

Mohammad Rizwan Babar Azam ODI World Cup 2023 Shaheen Afridi Temba Bavuma Haris Rauf Aiden Markram