Twitter Reactions: Andile Phehlukwayo and Dussen assist the Proteas decimate Pakistan in the 2nd ODI

All-round efforts from Andile Phehlukwayo helped South Africa come back and level the series 1-1 against Pakistan. Even though Pakistan had their moments in the game, they couldn’t really capitalise on them. Starting from the top-order failure to the bowlers letting the pressure off at key moments, it didn’t exactly go as per the plans for the visitors.

Cometh the third ODI, some big stars like Quinton de Kock and Dale Steyn will be back which should make the series furthermore interesting. Along with Phehlukwayo, Rassie van der Dussen also had a critical role to play in this game. It never seemed as if he is playing his first international series with the kind of batting he put on display while under pressure in the match.

Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi rip the Pakistan batting apart

It was quite a scintillating effort from the bowlers after the team opted to bowl first. They persisted with pitching the ball in one area and didn’t give away a single easy run. With the pressure building up, the batsmen were forced to go for the big shots and perished in the course. The side was quickly reduced to 112/8 and the home team was all over Pakistan.

But then, skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and Hasan Ali put up a spirited fightback. They ensured that the team got to a respectable total. While Ahmed scored 41 off 59 balls, Ali played an aggressive knock to stretch his score to 59 from 45 deliveries. However, it was Andile Phehlukwayo who yet again saw the end to these two innings which came against the run of play. His four-wicket haul along with a three-wicket haul from Shamsi helped bowl Pakistan out for 203 runs.

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Shaheen Afridi was breathing fire with the ball in the second innings of the game. Both the openers Reeza Hendricks and Hashim Amla along with skipper Faf du Plessis were rattled early by the young pacer. After a glimpse of some counterattack, David Miller also perished after he got to 31 off 26 balls. Right off the next ball, Shadab Khan also dismissed Heinrich Klaasen for a duck.

At 80/5, South Africa was in a similar position to that of Pakistan. But, the 6th wicket partnership, just like the 9th wicket partnership for Pakistan, took the game away from the opposition. Both Rassie van der Dussen and Andile Phehlukwayo played some great cricket. They ensured that they didn’t lose any wicket further and added 127 runs together. While Dussen was unbeaten on 80, Phehlukwayo was unbeaten on 69.

Twitterati was glad about this 5-wicket win that South Africa registered. They couldn’t get enough of the all-round heroics from Andile Phehlukwayo. Also, there was an immense appreciation for Rassie van der Dussen.

Here is how Twitterati reacted:

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