The dented Pakistan locked horns with formidable South Africa in a do-or-die ODI World Cup clash at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai on Friday, October 27. Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat first with an intent to post a big total for South Africa to chase.
But things didn't unfold the way Pakistan expected as South African bowlers kept charging the Men in Green from the word go. Resultantly, Pakistan lost two wickets in quick succession. It was Marco Jansen who removed both the Pakistani opener Imam Ul Hasan and Abdullah Shafique in back to back overs to leave Babar Azam's brigade teetering at 38/2. But what caught everyone's eyes was the verbal altercation between Mohammad Rizwan and Jansen during the course of play.
The tension began when the in-form Rizwan was compelled to step into the field earlier than anticipated due to Pakistan's early loss of wickets. Upon his entry, fortune seemed to favour Rizwan as Jansen narrowly missed a challenging catch.
Jansen delivered a slower ball to Rizwan in the seventh over which led to another dropped catch attempt by the all-rounder. The atmosphere on the field grew intense with each ball, reaching its optimum when Rizwan expertly sent a ball flying past third-man for a boundary.
The boundary, however, was more than just four runs. It became the spark for a verbal duel. A visibly agitated Jansen hurled a few words to Rizwan, who did not hesitate in giving it back. The heat of the moment continued to rise before Babar and Gerald Coetzee intervened to prevent things from escalating further.
By the end of the over, Jansen’s delivery had Rizwan shouldering his arms, leading to yet another exchange of words accompanied by a significant gesture from the Pakistani player.
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However, later Coetzee sent marching orders to Rizwan in the 16th over to take Jansen's revenge when Pakistan's scoreboard read 86/3.
Earlier, after winning the toss, Pakistan's captain Babar Azam chose to bat first. Pakistan made two changes in their playing XI as they brought in Waseem Jr and Mohammad Nawaz in place of sick Hasan Ali and Usama Mir.
After the toss Babar said,"We'll bat first. Every match is important now and we are focusing on that. All departments we need to improve, fielding especially. We need to stick together and discuss how to get better. I'm happy to do well myself now. Two changes - Hasan Ali is sick, so Waseem Jr comes in. Nawaz is also back, Usama Mir misses out."
Meanwhile South Africa's skipper Temba Bavuma said," We've played some good cricket, inspirational performances. We've build some momentum with our bowlers and batters clicking. This is not like a T20 WC where you play just 4-5 group games, we need to keep doing well. I would have surely batted here, looks like a good wicket. Hopefully it stays nice and hard like this, we'll have to assess quickly on how to go about things here. Three changes - I come back, Tabriz Shamsi and Ngidi comes in. Reeza Hendricks, Rabada and Lizaad Williams miss out."
Pakistan Playing XI: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf
South Africa Playing XI: Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi
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