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'Keshav Maharaj, naam yaad rakhega Pakistan' - Fans react after South Africa beat Pakistan in a nail-biting thriller by one wicket to push them towards 'exit' corner

Pakistan have now fallen on the brink of exit from the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 after fourth successive defeat in the six matches, they played so far.

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Mathew K
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Pakistan vs South Africa (File Photo, Twitter)

Pakistan vs South Africa (File Photo, Twitter)

Pakistan and South Africa produced one of the most thrilling encounters in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. Both teams locked horns in the 26th match of the tournament at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, October 27. Pakistan skipper Babar won the toss and decided to bat first once again at the Chennai surface.

Batting first, Pakistan faced a collapse as they lost their 5 wickets on the score of 141 runs; the top order batters failed to deliver up to the expectations except for skipper Babar’s knock of 50 runs and his partnership of 48 runs for the third wicket with Mohammad Rizwan.

Later, Shadab Khan and Saud Shakeel stitched a very crucial partnership of 84 runs for the sixth wicket helping Pakistan to post a decent total of 270 runs somehow, losing all the wickets in 46.4 overs Saud Shakeel scored 52 runs with 7 fours, alongside Shadab Khan’s contribution of 43 runs with 3 fours and 2 sixes.

Star South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi scalped 4 wickets with brilliant bowling, alongside 3 and 2 wickets picked by Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee. Lungi Ngidi also claimed one wicket for the Proteas.

Keshav Maharaj holds nerves to get South Africa over the line

While chasing the target, South Africa started brilliantly, scoring 206 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. But following that, they also faced a collapse in the lower middle order. Amidst all this, star middle-order batter Aiden Markram played a match-defining knock of 91 runs before getting caught by Usama Mir off Mohammad Wasim Jr in the 41st over of the second innings.

There came a time when South Africa lost their nine wickets and needed 4 runs with only one wicket remaining. But then Keshav Maharaj emerged as the saviour for the Proteas and smashed a match-winning four off Mohammad Nawaz in the 48th over of the second innings.

Eventually, South Africa won this exciting and nail-biting thriller by a close margin of 1 wicket to move to the top spot in the points table of the tournament, surpassing the hosts, India.

Here’s how fans reacted to the nail-biting contest between Pakistan and South Africa:

 

 

ODI World Cup 2023 Featured Babar Azam Pakistan vs South Africa