After suffering a shocking defeat in the T20I series, the visitors, South Africa bounced back strongly by clinching the ODI series, winning the first two games of the series. The third ODI potentially becomes a dead rubber, however, the home side Pakistan has everything to play for as they look to avoid a whitewash in the ongoing three-match ODI series.
South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and opted to bat first in the third ODI. The South African team had one change, all-rounder Nondumiso Shangase replaced Nonkululeko Mlaba in the playing 11. On the other hand, the home side made three changes in their line-up, Omaima Sohail replaced Sidra Nawaz, Diana Baig replaced injured Fatima Sana, and pacer Waheeda Akhtar made her debut, replacing Umm-e-Hani.
South Africa got off to a poor start, losing their skipper Laura Wolvaardt for a four-ball duck. Left-arm spinner Saida Iqbal provided the first breakthrough for Pakistan. Lara Goodall joined Tazmin Brits at the crease and the duo stitched a 52-run partnership for the second wicket. Diana Baig provided the second breakthrough by dismissing the South African opener Tazmin Brits.
They lost a couple of wickets in quick succession and were in trouble at 64/4. Nadine de Klerk joined Marizanne Kapp at the crease and the duo stitched a 36-run partnership for the fifth wicket to bring some sort of stability to the innings. However, left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal got the big wicket of Marizanne Kamp to provide a much-needed breakthrough for Pakistan. Delmi Tucker joined Nadine de Klerk at the crease and stitched yet another crucial 37-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu foxed Delmi Tucker to get her second wicket of the day.
The visitors suffered a collapse as they were eventually bundled out for 185 with 11 balls to spare. The 23-year-old all-rounder Nadine de Klerk was the lone warrior for South Africa, scoring a well-compiled half-century (60 off 95 balls), taking their total past the 180-run mark. The South African batting line-up struggled to get going on a tricky surface. The left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal (2/26) was the pick of the bowler for Pakistan alongside Nashra Sandhu (2/37) and skipper Nida Dar (2/31) picking up two wickets each
Chasing the target of 186, the Pakistan openers got off to a steady start, scoring at just four runs per over in the powerplay. However, they eventually lost the wicket of Sadaf Shamas with just three balls left in the powerplay. Ayabonga Khaka provided the first breakthrough for South Africa. Bismah Mahroof joined Sidra Amin at the crease and the duo almost killed the run-chase by stitching a massive 110-run partnership for the second wicket.
Nadine de Klerk broke the 110-run stand by dismissing the opening batter Sidra Amin for a well-made 68, completing her 6th ODI half-century. Aliya Riaz joined Bismah Mahroof at the crease and the duo saw the home side across the line with a 37-run partnership for the third wicket in a run chase. Sidra Amin (68 off 82 balls) and former skipper Bismah Mahroof (60 off 98 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Pakistan. Ayabonga Khaka (1/27) was the top performer with the ball for South Africa.
🇵🇰 Pakistan took the final victory, beating South Africa comfortably by 8 wickets.
• Sidra Amin: 68 (82)
• Bismah Maroof: 60* (98)
• Ayabonga Khaka: 1/27South Africa won the ODI series 2-1. #CricketTwitter #PAKvSA pic.twitter.com/2PfP7KDByG
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) September 14, 2023
Opening batter Sidra Amin was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant performance with the bat (68 off 82 balls) playing a crucial role in helping Pakistan avoid a whitewash in the series as they sealed a consolation victory by eight wickets in the third ODI. The 23-year-old South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk was awarded the Player of the Series for her brilliant all-round performance in the ODI series.