SA vs PAK 2021, 3rd ODI: Pakistan achieves big milestone, Babar Azam's records, Shaheen Afridi's feat and more stats

Pakistan have clinched the three-match ODI series by 2-1 against South Africa. They won the third ODI by 28 runs which was played at Supersport Park, Centurion. The visitors posted a total of 320/7 in 50 overs after they were asked to bat first. Fakhar Zaman smashed a brilliant century for them scoring 101 runs off 104 balls with the help of 9 fours and 3 sixes. Captain Babar Azam also played an important knock of 94 runs off 82 balls which included 7 fours and 3 sixes. For the hosts, Keshav Maharaj picked up 3 wickets for 45 runs in his 10 overs.

Chasing this total, South Africa had a good start with their openers Aiden Markram and Janneman Malan adding 54 runs for the opening wicket. Janneman Malan got out after scoring well made 70 runs off 81 balls with the help of 9 fours. The proteas team lost their 5th wicket at the score of 140 runs, but Kyle Verreynne and Andile Phehlukwayo added 108 runs for the 6th wicket to raise hopes for a win. Once their partnership broke, a win for Pakistan was also ensured. South Africa eventually got all-out for 292 runs in 49.3 overs. For Pakistan, Mohammad Nawaz and Shaheen Afridi picked up 3 wickets each.

Let’s look at all the stats and numbers after the end of the third and final ODI between South Africa and Pakistan:

2 – This is the second time that Pakistan have won an ODI series in South Africa. They became the first Asian team to win multiple ODI series in Pakistan.

3 – Fakhar Zaman became only the third visiting player to score two consecutive ODI hundreds in South Africa. Before him, Kevin Pietersen and Joe Root achieved the landmark.

1 – Fakhar Zaman also became the first player from Pakistan to hit two ODI tons in South Africa.

228 – Babar Azam accumulated 228 runs in this series with the help of 2 centuries. He is the fourth captain to hit 2 tons in a three-match series. His runs-tally in this series is also the highest for a captain from Pakistan in a three-match series

4 – Aiden Markram bowled the first over for the hosts along with opening the batting in this match. He is the fourth player from South Africa to achieve this unique milestone.

302 – Fakhar Zaman aggregated a total of 302 runs in this series. This is the second-highest runs tally for Pakistan in a three-match ODI series. Babar Azam who scored 360 runs against West Indies in 2016 is sitting at the top in this regard.

290.91 –  Hasan Ali smacked 32 runs off only 11 balls in this game. His strike rate of 290.91 is the second-highest for Pakistan in an ODI match with a minimum of 30 runs scored.

15.75 – Babar Azam and Hasan Ali added 63 runs off 24 balls for the 8th wicket. Their run rate of 15.75 is the third-highest for an 8th wicket partnership in ODIs with a minimum of 50 runs.

5 – Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq shared a 112-run partnership for the first wicket in this game. They became the first pair from Pakistan to have five opening partnerships of over a hundred runs in ODIs.

300 – Sarfaraz Ahmed took 3 catches in this match, and completed 300 catches as a wicketkeeper in international cricket. He is the fourth wicketkeeper from Pakistan to reach this landmark after Kamran Akmal, Moin Khan, and Rashid Latif.

50 – Shaheen Afridi completed 50 ODI wickets in his 25th ODI. Only Hasan Ali took fewer games (24) than him among Pakistan bowlers to achieve this milestone.

108– The partnership of 108 runs between Kyle Verreynne and Andile Phehlukwayo is the fifth-highest partnership for the sixth wicket in ODIs for South Africa.