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Saim Ayub’s scintillating ton takes Pakistan to 308 in Pink ODI

football22 December 2024 18:00| © MWP
By:Patrick Compton
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Saim Ayub© Gallo Images

Saim Ayub struck a scintillating century to power Pakistan to 308-9 in 47 overs in the Pink ODI against South Africa at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday.

The game was initially interrupted by rain, leading the umpires to assign 47 overs to each team because of loss of time.

Pakistan, already two up in the three-match series, were put in to bat by South Africa after Temba Bavuma won the toss in damp, cloudy conditions.

Saim’s fine knock, full of elegant drives and flashing pulls, cuts and hooks, was his third hundred in just nine ODIs for the 22-year-old Karachi-born left-hander.

What was particularly impressive was that the conditions were suitable for fast bowlers at the start of the innings, with Kagiso Rabada, in particular, exploiting the damp conditions that led to some extravagant seam movement up front.

Rabada got South Africa off to the ideal start in his opening over, finding the edge of Abdullah Shafique's tentative forward-defensive stroke, leading to his third consecutive duck in the series.

But South Africa were not to enjoy any further breakthroughs for some time.

Saim and Babar Azam initially had to battle to counter the South African pace attack but they were always attentive to the boundary balls delivered, taking an increasingly heavy toll as the ball softened and the weather improved.

The pair added 114 in 133 balls for the second wicket – setting up the innings perfectly – when Babar pulled a short delivery from Kwena Maphaka straight to David Miller at midwicket.

Babar, who was dropped at point by Bjorn Fortuin on 11, struck his 52 in 71 balls, including seven fours. It was his 35th ODI fifty.

After a brief period of adjustment, skipper Mohammad Rizwan provided Saim with the perfect accompaniment as the pair accelerated the run rate by slamming 93 in 75 balls for the third wicket.

Saim eventually fell for a superb 101 in 94 balls in an innings that included 13x4s and 2x6s, giving South Africa’s debutant, Corbin Bosch, a prized first wicket in ODIs.

The young batter has enjoyed a tremendous tour of South Africa which has included two ODI hundreds and an unbeaten 98 in the T20Is.

Rizwan (53 in 52 balls) then became one of left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin's two victims in an important spell that slowed Pakistan's momentum – albeit only for a while.

The steady building of the foundations certainly paid off for Pakistan in the latter stages of their innings when Salman Agha (48 off 33 balls) and Tayyab Tahir (28 off 24) bludgeoned 74 off 47 balls for the fifth wicket.

There was a flurry of wickets at the end of the innings as Pakistan threw caution to the winds, but their final total was an impressive one.

For the Proteas, Rabada was the most successful bowler with 3-56 while Marco Jansen and Fortuin claimed two wickets apiece.

South Africa will have been concerned about the number of wides, 15, that dominated the extras’ count of 17.

SOUTH AFRICA: Temba Bavuma (capt), Tony de Zorzi, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Bjorn Fortuin, Kwena Maphaka, Kagiso Rabada

PAKISTAN: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (capt & wk), Salman Ali, Kamran Ghulam, Tayyab Tahir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Sufiyaan Muqeem

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