South Africa 361 for 8 (Dercksen 90, Brits 77, Luus 57, de Klerk 49, Aroob 2-49) beat Pakistan 345 (Zafar 75, Shamas 61, Sana 52, Dercksen 3-59) by 16 runs
After tallying close to 500 runs in the first ODI of the three-match ICC Women’s Championship series, South Africa and Pakistan combined to put up 706 runs from 99.5 overs in the second ODI in Centurion on Wednesday. South Africa, with 361 of those, were better by just 16 runs at the end of it, and had Annerie Dercksen to thank for it being so, the allrounder first scoring 90 from 68 balls and then picking up three wickets, two of them inside six overs of Pakistan’s chase of 362.
It started with Pakistan opting to field, and Tazmin Brits combining with Laura Wolvaardt for 55 runs inside nine overs. Faye Tunnicliffe fell soon after, as did Brits, whose 62-ball 77 had dominated the first two stands, but it was all South Africa after that from the 17th over.
Sune Luus and Dercksen put up 102 in 100 balls for the fourth wicket, Dercksen and Chloe Tryon added 62 from 31 for the sixth, and Nadine de Klerk added 45 more from just 19 balls for the eighth before de Klerk became the eighth batter out off the last ball of the innings for 49 off 26 balls. It was the last of five big individual score of the innings, with Dercksen’s 90 leading the way, following by Brits’ 77, Luus’ 57 off 67 balls, and Tryon’s 37 in 23.
In the middle of the carnage, Syeda Aroob Shah’s 2 for 49 from her ten overs stood out.
Pakistan weren’t too far behind South Africa in their reply.
Dercksen had seen the back of Muneeba Ali and Sidra Amin by the sixth over, and at that stage it might have looked like one-way traffic, but Sadaf Shamas and Ayesha Zafar put up the first substantial stand of the innings with 97 from 87 balls, and after Shamas fell for 61 in 62 balls, Zafar added 76 more in 60 balls with Natalia Pervaiz.
Zafar was dismissed for 75 off 68 balls by Nondumiso Shangase in the 30th over, and she got Aliya Riaz with the very next ball, but Pakistan were 197 after 30, the target very much within their reach. Five wickets had fallen, though, and that might have been decisive in the end.
Pakistan’s fight wasn’t over, though. The fight this time was led by captain Fatima Sana, who added 81 in 65 balls with Aroob for the seventh wicket. However, once Sana was gone for a 36-ball 52 Pakistan were up against it. And even though they got handy contributions from No. 8 Aroob (40 in 44 balls) and No. 9 Diana Baig, who hit 38 not out in 25 balls, they needed one of the main batters around.
The win gave South Africa the series, following their 2-1 T20I series win. The third and final ODI will be played on Sunday in Durban.