Pakistan defeated South Africa by six wickets to qualify for the final of the ongoing tri-nation tournament. Chasing 353 runs, they broke several records, including the highest successful run chase in Pakistan’s ODI history. Mohammad Rizwan (122*) and Salman Agha (134) scored a century each and stitched a partnership of 260 runs for the fourth wicket – which is also the highest for Pakistan in limited-overs cricket.
Notably, batting first, South Africa posted a mammoth total of 352 runs. Captain Temba Bavuma led by example, scoring 82 runs while batting at three, Matthew Breetzke made 83 off 84 deliveries. Heinrich Klaasen was terrific as well, as the flamboyant cricketer smashed 87 runs in 56 balls. In the end, Kyle Verreynne played an important knock of unbeaten 44 runs to help the Proteas post a defendable total on board.
Pakistan had a slow start in the second innings as Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel departed after scoring 23 and 15 runs respectively. Opener Fakhar Zaman scored 41 runs off 28 deliveries as the hosts were reduced to 91/3. Things were looking extremely difficult for the hosts but captain Rizwan and Agha played marathon knocks to change the tide and register a historic win for Pakistan.
South Africa, in the meantime, lacked character with the ball. Several of their key players are currently missing as Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen were unavailable for the tournament due to SA20 and Anrich Nortje and Gerald Coetzee are out with their respective injuries. Yet, they pushed the Rizwan-led side but couldn’t put enough pressure on them as Rizwan and Agha were phenomenal, to say the least.
With the win, Pakistan qualified for the tri-nation final and will play New Zealand in the summit clash on February 14. The Black Caps defeated Pakistan in the opening game of the tournament but the team bounced back well against South Africa, which sets up for a cracking contest.
Pakistan’s successful run-case in ODI cricket:
| Year | Opposition | Target |
| 2025 | South Africa | 353 |
| 2022 | Australia | 349 |
| 2023 | Sri Lanka | 345 |
| 2023 | New Zealand | 337 |
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