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Pakistan slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat in the 2023 World Cup on Friday (October 27).
South Africa beat them by one wicket in a cliffhanger at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai and moved to the top of the points table. Pakistan's semi-final hopes have taken a severe hit as they have only four points from six games.
Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat first in the contest. The Men in Green managed to reach 270 in 46.4 overs before being bundled out by the Proteas bowlers. Babar Azam (50), Saud Shakeel (52) and Shadab Khan (42) provided useful contributions for them in the batting department. Tabraiz Shamsi was the star performer with the ball for South Africa as he scalped four wickets.
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South Africa's chase was a roller coaster ride as most of their batters got starts, but none of them except Aiden Markram (91) could go on to score big. As a result, Pakistan's hopes were alive throughout, and they kept fighting hard. They even seemed to have the upper hand when they reduced South Africa to 260/9 in 45.3 overs.
South Africa's last batting pair of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, however, held their nerve and finished the game in the 48th over.
Cricket fans on social media enjoyed the thrilling encounter between South Africa and Pakistan in the 2023 World Cup. They expressed their reactions through hilarious memes on social media.
Here is a collection of the best memes:
"The guys are enjoying the moment" - South Africa captain Temba Bavuma after narrow 1-wicket win against Pakistan
At the post-match presentation, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma reflected on the win and said:
"The guys are enjoying the moment. Nail-biting finish. Speaking for a South African fan you're a little bit happy. It's been a pressure with us chasing. We haven't done well to rectify that. We've had those conversations and it's a bit easier to have those conversations now with the win. You need to have the guys over there in the pressure situations to speak out what they were thinking."
He added:
"Hard to say now, I'm still enjoying the win myself but we will have those conversations. It's something that we've spoken about and has been thrown about. We have a blueprint and a method batting first. We can't say with conviction that we have the blueprint while we're chasing. We'll obviously want to show a lot more of a clinical display with the bat."
Bavuma also lauded Tabraiz Shamsi for performing exceptionally in the game against Pakistan.
"Ecstatic for Shamsi - he started it with the ball," Bavuma said. "He then did it with the bat. We needed him today and fortunately for us he came good. Superb from a senior player like Shamsi to get through a pressure moment like that."
Do you think Pakistan can still make it to the semi-finals? Let us know your predictions in the comments section.
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