South Africa secured a narrow one-wicket victory over Pakistan in a crucial ICC World Cup 2023 fixture in Chennai.
The Men in Green could have clinched the game if the on-field umpire had ruled Tabraiz Shamsi out.
On the last ball of 46th over when South Africa still needing 8, Haris Rauf's delivery pitched on a length and struck Tabraiz Shamsi on the front foot, leaving a substantial gap between the bat and the pad.
Pakistan opted for a Decision Review System (DRS) referral. The ball tracking system was called into action, revealing that the impact was in line with the stumps, although the ball had pitched outside off and just grazed the leg stump. As a result, the on-field umpire's decision was upheld, allowing the batter to survive and carry South Africa to their fifth win, thanks to Keshav Maharaj's crucial contribution.
When asked about his team's experience with the DRS, Babar Azam declined to place blame on the technology. He stated, "DRS could work in your favour or against you. It's a part and parcel of the game. We've had some decisions go our way, and some have gone against us."
He also added, "We will focus on playing the remaining games well and assess our final standing in the tournament."
Babar expressed his belief that Pakistan fell short by 10-15 runs with the bat as they finished with a total of 270. He commended the efforts of the pacers, saying, "We made a good comeback, but we were slightly short by 10-15 runs. I think our fast bowlers performed admirably, but unfortunately, the result didn't go in our favour."
The crucial win saw the Proteas jumping to the first position in the points table with a handsome 2.032 net run rate (NRR).
Temba Bavuma and his men had a few hiccups during the chase of 271 but Aiden Markram's impressive knock of 91 pushed them close to the finish line.
Pakistan got close to winning the match courtesy of a brilliant performance by their pace attack in the later stages of the match as they needed just a wicket off 11 runs but Keshav Maharaj held his nerves and stood till the last minute, eventually scoring the winning shot, sealing the deal for the Proteas.
Pakistan’s remaining ICC World Cup 2023 matches
October 31 - vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
November 4 - vs New Zealand Bengaluru (Day match)
November 11 - vs England in Kolkata