South Africa's wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen has been in good form but not getting support from the other end. In the first two ODIs of the three-ODI series against Pakistan, he has missed two centuries. On December 19, Klaasen was dismissed for 97 off 74 balls. Right after the dismissal, he vented out his frustration on stumps by kicking it on his way back to the pavillion. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has fined 15 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code Of Conduct.
The Article 2.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel relates to "abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match." The sanctions were levied by match referee Richie Richardson.
Klaasen was also involved in an altercation with Pakistan players as he felt offended by what Haris Rauf said during the break between overs. He had a heated exchange with Pakistan captain Mohammed Rizwan before umpire and Babar Azam took charge of the situation and prevented it from escalating any further.
Klaasen runs out of partners
When the incident took place, Klaasen was batting on 30 off 27 balls. He reached his half-century from 45 balls. Later, he took on Abrar Ahmed, smashing him for two sixes. In the 44th over, Klaasen was the last to fall. His 74-ball 97 was laced with eight fours and four sixes.
The veteran wicketkeeper-batter turned out to be the lone warrior for South Africa. The second-best score belonged to opener Tony de Zorzi who scored 34 runs from 40 balls. Apart from Klaasen, all of the top six batters got starts but could not convert them into big scores. South Africa were bowled out for 248 from 43.1 overs. They lost the second ODI by 81 runs.
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Shaheen, Naseem shine
Shaheen Shah Afridi was the wrecker-in-chief for Pakistan with a four-wicket haul. Naseem took three wickets including two with the old ball. Abrar claimed two crucial wickets whereas Agha Salman dismissed Rassie van der Dussen.
Dead rubber on December 26
Pakistan have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. The third and final ODI will be played at The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. It will be followed by two-Test series starting December 26.
