Proteas take series lead in UAE

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The third ODI between South Africa and Pakistan in Abu Dhabi saw the visitors record a 68-run victory on Wednesday, giving the Proteas a two-one series lead thanks to Imran Tahir's four wickets against his former countrymen.

The third ODI between South Africa and Pakistan in Abu Dhabi saw the visitors record a 68-run victory on Wednesday, giving the Proteas a two-one series lead thanks to Imran Tahir's four wickets against his former countrymen.

South Africa managed to post a respectable 259 for eight, with JP Duminy's half century the highlight as the hosts took regular wickets. Pakistan failed to impress during the chase though as Tahir and company got them all out for 191.

The Proteas won the toss and chose to bat first, but were soon one down when Hashim Amla became on of Mohammad Irfan's three victims. The batsman, back for this first game of the series after the birth of his child, was bowled for 10.

Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis then proceeded to add 77 runs over the course of the next 15 overs, with both needing some runs after bouts of poor form. De Kock struck five fours in his 40 runs before being stumped by Umar Akmal off Shahid Afridi.

Du Plessis made his half ton off 54 balls, a relief after recent trials, but he could only reach 55 before also finding his bails removed by Akmal, also to Afridi. This left Duminy and skipper AB de Villiers to continue the knock.

The veteran pairing added 70 for the fourth wicket, going at 4.5 to the over as the Pakistan bowlers kept matters fairly tight. De Villiers reached 34 before being superbly caught by Mohammad Hafeez.

Duminy continued to his half ton, making it off 67 balls and doing a lot of running as he only hit three boundaries. He went on to record 64, before falling to Sohail Tanvir, hitting it to a diving Misbah-ul-Haq in the covers.

David Miller made the only other substantial score, recording 33 before being bowled by Saeed Ajmal, while the tail enders failed to contribute at the death, aside from a quick 13 from Ryan McLaren.

Pakistan actually got off to a good start in the chase, reaching 50 without losing a wicket. But they lost openers Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad in quick succession, falling to Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn for 15 and 32 respectively.

The middle order all failed to reach 20 as Tahir removed three batsmen with regularity. McLaren added Afridi and Tanvir to his records, while Ajmal was Tahir's fourth and final wicket.

Pakistan's top scorer was Wahab Riaz, who made 33 at the death but was no match for the Proteas bowlers when the crunch came, caught behind off Morkel. Tanvir was the final wicket to fall, in the 45th over.

<b>Pakistan:</b> Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan.

<b>South Africa:</b> Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Imran Tahir.

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