FAISALABAD; South African opener Quinton de Kock struck a commanding unbeaten 123 as South Africa crushed Pakistan by eight wickets in the second One-Day International at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, on Thursday. The Proteas chased down the 270-run target in just 40.1 overs to level the three-match series 1-1.
De Kock, anchoring the innings with typical flair, notched his 22nd ODI hundred off 99 balls, hitting boundaries at will. Partnered by Tony de Zorzi (76 off 63 balls), the pair stitched a decisive 153-run stand for the second wicket after Lhuandre Pretorius set the tone with a brisk 46 off 40 deliveries.
Pretorius and de Kock’s opening stand of 81 in 11.5 overs provided early dominance before Pretorius edged Mohammad Wasim to Rizwan. De Zorzi’s aggressive strokeplay included nine fours and three sixes before he perished off Faheem Ashraf in the 35th over.
De Kock finished the job in style, guiding spinner Saim Ayub for a single to backward point in the 41st over, marking South Africa’s joint-biggest ODI win by wickets in Pakistan.
Earlier, Pakistan recovered from a top-order collapse to post 269 for nine. After slumping to 22 for three, Saim Ayub (53), Salman Ali Agha (69), and Mohammad Nawaz (59) rebuilt the innings with grit. Nawaz’s aggressive strokeplay, including four sixes, revived Pakistan’s hopes, while Faheem Ashraf’s quick 28 helped add 90 runs in the final ten overs.
Nandre Burger was the pick of the South African bowlers with 4 for 46, while Corbin Bosch took 2 for 58 and Nqabayomzi Peter claimed 3 for 55.
The deciding match of the series will be played at the same venue on Saturday.
