South Africa's star all-rounder, Keshav Maharaj, emerged as the hero as he held his nerve to guide his team to a nail-biting one-wicket victory over Pakistan in the 26th match of the ICC World Cup at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday.
Aiden Markram showcased his prowess with a solid 91 runs, steering South Africa to a promising position at 206-4 in their pursuit of Pakistan's target of 271. However, the match's climax saw Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, the last pair, grind out 11 runs while facing 11 balls.
The nail-biting finish included a tense moment when Shamsi narrowly escaped a leg-before-wicket appeal, referred to the umpire, after a delivery from fast bowler Haris Rauf. With eight runs needed, it all came down to Maharaj, who smacked a boundary to the square-leg off spinner Mohammad Nawaz in the 47.2nd over, clinching the victory. The jubilant scenes in the dressing room illustrated the intensity of the moment.
Maharaj, who contributed seven not out, also teamed up with Lungi Ngidi (four) to add 10 crucial runs for the ninth wicket. However, Rauf took an astonishing catch off his own bowling to dismiss Ngidi.
With this win, South Africa ascended to the top of the table with 10 points from five victories in six matches, while Pakistan, after starting the tournament with two consecutive wins, has now suffered four successive defeats and holds only four points. They will require favourable results to have a shot at the semi-finals.
Remarkably, this was only the seventh one-wicket victory in all World Cups and the second for South Africa.
Left-arm spinner Shamsi played a pivotal role, taking 4-60 in Pakistan's innings of 270 all out in 46.4 overs, backed by contributions from Saud Shakeel (52), skipper Babar Azam (50), and Shadab Khan (43).
Markram's 70-run partnership for the fifth wicket with David Miller (29 off 33 balls) initially put South Africa on track for a straightforward win. However, a late drama unfolded at Chidambaram Stadium as South Africa's strong position at 206-4 crumbled to 250-8.
Shaheen Shah Afridi removed Miller in the 34th over, and Rauf dismissed Marco Jansen for 20 three overs later. Markram's innings of 91 featured three sixes and seven boundaries off 93 balls, marking his fourth fifty in the World Cup and crossing the 2,000-run milestone in ODI cricket during his 61st match.
Earlier in the day, Shamsi and Jansen had derailed Pakistan's innings. The veteran leg-spinner claimed four wickets for 60 runs, while pace bowler Jansen took three wickets for 43 runs.
Despite Pakistan's struggles, they managed to reach a competitive total thanks to an 84-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Shakeel and Shadab. This partnership breathed life into Pakistan's innings after Babar Azam's dismissal at 141. Shadab contributed with two sixes and three boundaries, while Shakeel's second fifty in the tournament included seven boundaries.
Jansen initiated Pakistan's troubles by dismissing openers Abdullah Shafique (nine) and Imam-ul-Haq (12) within the first seven overs. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan added 48 runs for the third wicket, with Rizwan making 31 runs. Babar continued his partnership with Iftikhar Ahmed, adding another 43 runs, before Shamsi's dismissal of Iftikhar and Azam halted their momentum.
Fast bowler Gerald Cotzee broke the partnership by removing Shadab in the 40th over, while Shamsi later accounted for the dismissals of Shakeel and Shaheen (two).
