De Klerk’s heroics help SA seal ODI series

KARACHI: South Africa sealed the ODI series, outclassing Pakistan by six wickets in a one-sided second contest with good contributions from batters and a lethal bowling display from Nadine de Klerk here at the National Bank Stadium on Monday night.

Apart from taking four wickets, de Klerk also scored 24 not out. She was adjudged the player of the match.South Africa, after losing the T20Is, looked a formidable unit in the ODIs as they chased down the 169-run target in 34 overs with contributions from four batters after a tormenting bowling display in the first innings.

More importantly, just like the first ODI, the visitors yet again showed much more adaptability to the slow Pakistani conditions as compared to the T20Is.

Their batters played the spin well, and spinners also came to the fore.The in-form Tazmin Brits (45) played a good hand after losing her opening partner and team skipper, Laura Wolvaardt (13), with 41 runs on the board.

Lara Goodall scored 36 before being dismissed by Umm-e-Hani, while Sune Luss scored 10. An unbeaten stand of 54 from Marizanne Kapp (29) and de Klerk (24) took the Proteas to the series win as both ended as not out.

For Pakistan, Sadia Iqbal was the notable bowler with figures of 2-32 in 10 overs. Earlier, Pakistan, batting first after winning the toss, started on the worst possible note as the South African bowlers ran through the top six batters.

The first six wickets fell like a pack of cards for just 49 runs as Nadine de Klerk dented the home team’s top order with three quick wickets.Ayanbong Khaka and Masabata Klass were also among the wicket-takers.

The medium-pacer de Klerk displayed an exceptional show of swing and accurate bowling, completely outfoxing the hosts’ openers with the new ball.In the beginning, the tight lines helped Proteas build pressure as Pakistan managed only 12 runs in seven overs.