South Africa win 3rd ODI by 4 wickets, Pakistan clinch series 2-1

Zee Media Bureau/Suyash Srivastava

Centurion: After losing two matches in a row along with the series, South Africa managed to win the third ODI against Pakistan, who gave them a tough fight in the third match played at the Centurion. SCORECARD» | COMMENTARY» | AS IT HAPPENED» Batting first, Pakistan posted a meagre total of 179 runs on the board and made sure it wasn’t a cakewalk for the hosts. Vernon Philander got his side to a great start when he dismissed Ahmed Shehzad for a third-ball duck. Philander was well supported by the other pacers, as Tsotsobe and McLaren too got early breakthroughs for the team. Pakistan once again found solace in skipper Misbah-ul-Haq who played a pivotal knock – 79 runs off 107 balls and took his team to a decent total. Chasing the paltry total, South Africa were in some trouble when they lost four wickets for just 84 runs. But their skipper AB de Villiers made sure he batted till the end on this occasion, and he remained unbeaten on 48 runs as South Africa won the match. Philander who scalped three wickets was adjudged the Man of the Match while spinner Saeed Ajmal was declared as the Man of the Series. It was a proud moment for Pakistan as they won their first series on South African soil.