Pakistan slump to one-day series defeat

South Africa took six Pakistan wickets for just 20 runs off 36 balls to achieve a sensational win and clinch the five match one-day series by 14 runs. Pacemen Albie Morkel finished with 4-44 and Makhaya Ntini grabbed 4-61 as the tourists pulled off a sensational victory from the jaws of defeat as Pakistan were dismissed for 219 in 46.3 overs.
"It is fantastic to win both Tests and one-dayers and this was an incredible win. We took huge catches and the ball swung in the end and helped us to take those last wickets," Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, said.
Pakistan were cruising at 149-2 with Younus Khan (58) and Mohammad Yousuf (53) adding a solid 106 runs for the third wicket. They repaired the innings after Pakistan lost Imran Nazir (17) and Kamran Akmal (24).
Ntini removed both the openers in an incisive spell of five overs, having Nazir caught behind in the fourth over before bowling Akmal in the eighth.
Younus hit seven boundaries during his 65-ball knock before holing out to deep square-leg off Shaun Pollock. Yousuf, who had scores of 53, 117, 58 and five in the series, soon followed as he edged Jean-Paul Duminy to wicket-keeper Mark Boucher. He hit five boundaries during his 88-ball knock.
Captain Shoaib Malik (23) and Misbah-ul Haq (19) took the total to 199 before Albie Morkel removed both to bring the tourists back into contention.
With just 35 runs needed in the last 10 overs Pakistan panicked, with Morkel removing Malik, while Ntini dismissed Haq to expose the tail. Ntini also removed the dangerous Shahid Afridi (nine), out to an excellent catch at deep by AB de Villiers. Morkel then dismissed Sohail Tanveer, Rao Iftikhar and Shoaib Akhtar - all without scoring - to win the match.
Malik deplored the batting collapse, saying: "We could not finish the match which we dominated and it all boiled down to poor batting. A win would have been good for the Indian tour."
Earlier, Shoaib Akhtar, whose last one-day international was against England in September 2006, took 4-43 and was ably supported by fellow paceman Rao Iftikhar (3-45) to restrict South Africa to 233-9 in their 50 overs.
Jacques Kallis top scored with 86, with Herschelle Gibbs (54) and Duminy (44) also chipping in with useful contributions.
Akhtar missed the earlier two Tests and first four one-dayers as part of a 13-match ban for disciplinary lapses, including hitting teammate Mohammad Asif with a bat ahead of the Twenty20 world championship last month.
He bowled Smith with the third legitimate delivery of the innings for nought and could have had Kallis for two had wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal not dropped a simple catch.
Kallis, who managed just 27 runs in the first four matches, made the home team pay for the lapse as he hit four boundaries and a six during his 130-ball knock.
Kallis and Gibbs repaired the innings through a second-wicket stand of 80. Gibbs hit 10 boundaries before he was bowled by Iftikhar, while Kallis added 32 with AB de Villiers (17) and another 75 for the fourth wicket with Duminy, who hit three boundaries and a six.
Iftikhar had Duminy caught to put the brakes on South African progress before Akhtar returned for his third spell to dismiss Mark Boucher (five), Albie Morkel (five) and Kallis in a fiery display of pace bowling.

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