Parnell's late surge takes SA to 183
The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando
A hostile opening spell from Mohammad Irfan drew first blood of the series for Pakistan, before Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi took seven wickets between them, brutally exposing South Africa's frailty against spin in ODIs - a wound that has already bled profusely this year. That the innings didn't flatline before the 40th over is thanks largely to Wayne Parnell's fearless 56 from No. 8, but despite the late surge, South Africa's 183 will not daunt even as erratic a batting unit as Pakistan's.
None of the top five mustered scores of more than 20, and as each new man plodded and perished against the slow bowlers, the run rate dragged along in the wickets' wake. Neither Ajmal nor Afridi might reflect this effort was among their best limited-overs spells, but on a turning pitch, their opponents only threatened competence once a competitive total seemed out of reach. Ajmal, who gutted the middle order, finished with 4 for 30, and Afridi consolidated Pakistan's dominance with 3 for 37.
South Africa had groped their way around Sri Lanka two months before, and despite assurances that lessons from that series had been internalised, Ajmal's arrival at the bowling crease prompted familiar timidity in an already cautious batting effort.
Graeme Smith had not been on that trip to Sri Lanka, but early in Ajmal's second over - the 13th of the innings - he survived a voracious shout for caught behind, and determined from then on, to reach the pitch of the ball. Only, he stretched too far forward three balls later, and when the ball spun past the blade, he had dragged his foot out of the crease. Easy work for wicketkeeper Umar Akmal, and the square-leg umpire, ensued.
Faf du Plessis couldn't decide whether to play forward or back in Ajmal's next over, and was trapped in front by one that spun hard to beat the inside edge. In a moment that epitomised South Africa's lack of awareness, he reviewed the decision to find he had been pinned on the crease, by a ball heading for the middle of leg stump. AB de Villiers brought a more positive outlook to the crease, but soon misread Ajmal's doosra, and danced down the pitch to offer a leading edge, which prompted another dance from Ajmal, who took it on the second grab.
At the end of his first six over spell, Ajmal had conceded nine runs, and bowled two maidens - his three scalps leaving South Africa at 68 for 5 after 21 overs.
Afridi bowled flatter and with less venom, but was soon extending South Africa's slide, albeit at a less dramatic rate. David Miller had been among South Africa's best batsman in Sri Lanka, and he provided a brief resistance alongside Parnell, who was out of his depth technically, but possessed enough gall to compensate. The pair put on 39 together, in 45 balls, as Miller even ventured the first six of the innings, and though Afridi removed Miller with a slower one for 37, the seeds of defiance had been sown in Parnell, who was on 20 at the time.
In Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Parnell found a partner that found a way to survive as he did - through a series of inside and outside edges that were almost willed into falling safely. There were 15 overs remaining in the innings when this penultimate pair were brought together, and they played the match situation well - defending everything that was not susceptible to their limited range of attacking strokes.
Occasionally Parnell grew bolder, even reverse-swatting Ajmal over point, but the majority of his efforts were directed towards making use of the overs. Boundaries were a result of genuinely poor bowling or genuinely pathetic fielding, and by finding the batting wits that eluded their top order, the pair put on 52 together and lifted South Africa to a total they might conceivably defend, however unlikely.
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