Rain wins at Port Elizabeth

A downpour near the end of the first innings forced the abandonment of the third ODI between South Africa and Pakistan.

It had looked set to be a good contest; Pakistan had made 245-8 from one ball shy of their 50 overs, which was all the play possible tonight.

It was a total both sides would have been particularly neither pleased nor displeased with. South Africa had made early breakthroughs, via Makhaya Ntini removing both openers. Hall added another pair before they could really rebuild to make it 71-4. From there, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik forged a partnership of 91.

Yousuf was sublime once again. Elegant and full of sparkling strokeplay as always, he made his way to 79 from 98 balls. Malik’s 41 was a less graceful affair, nudging the seamers around the park. After losing this pair and then Shahid Afridi for 8, Pakistan’s deep batting line up came to the rescue. Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood added 41, which was followed by an unbeaten 29 between Mahmood and Naved Ul-Hasan.

It was a much improved bowling performance from the home side, after the shambles of the last game. They were disciplined, bowling the right lengths and lines. Ultimately though, the batsmen were never given the chance to back up the bowlers’ efforts. The rain poured for two hours, and once it eventually let up, the outfield was far too wet for play and the match was abandoned.

Pakistan 245-8
Mohammad Yousuf 79
Andrew Hall 4-35, Makhaya Ntini 3-53

Match abandoned – No Result