Muhammad Akhlaq’s swashbuckling half-century, coupled with a disciplined bowling performance powered Pakistan to thump South Africa by 17 runs and qualify for the Hong Kong Super Sixes semi-finals here at Mission Road Ground on Saturday.
Put into bat first, Pakistan accumulated a formidable total of 105/3 in the allotted six overs.
The Green Shirts, however, had a contrasting start to their innings as their in-form batters Asif Ali and Faheem Ashraf perished for a golden duck in the first over with just eight runs on the board.
But the back-to-back blows did not bother Pakistan much as Muhammad Akhlaq, during his partnership with Hussain Talat, launched an astounding recovery with belligerent hitting.
The wicketkeeper batter smashed the Proteas bowlers for seven sixes and two fours and brought up his half-century in just 16 deliveries.
Soon after amassing the milestone, Akhlaq retired out, putting Pakistan in a dominant position as they were 66/2 in four overs.
All-rounder Aamer Yamin and Talat then gave the final touches to Pakistan’s innings with blistering cameos. Yamin scored 18 off six, while Talat scored an unbeaten 27 off 11 balls.
Chasing a daunting 104-run target, South Africa only managed to score 88/4 despite Evan Jones’ blitz.
The five-time champions had a shaky start to the pursuit as they lost two wickets including their captain JJ Smut inside two overs with just 12 runs on the board.
Jones then joined forces with Modiri Litheko and pushed to anchor the run chase with a crucial 48-run partnership for the fourth wicket until Talat drew curtains on his fighting knock.
Jones remained the top-scorer for South Africa with a 13-ball 41, laced with one four and five sixes.
Talat struck again on the next delivery to reduce the former champions to 61/4 in 4.3 overs.
The back-to-back dismissals halted the flow of runs for South Africa and they eventually came up 17 runs short.
For Pakistan, Talat bagged two wickets, while Shahab Khan and Yamin made one scalp each.
Remember, Pakistan are unbeaten in the ongoing edition of the Hong Kong Super Sixes. They started their campaign with a 13-run victory over United Arab Emirates (UAE) before humbling arch-rivals India by six wickets.