4th ODI Preview: Pakistan Vs. South Africa - - Left Arm Spinner Abdur Rehman To Replace Saeed Ajmal

Left arm spinner Abdur Rehman is set to play his first match of the series as the spirited Pakistan bidding to level the 5-match series take on South Africa in the day/night fourth One Day International at Dubai Sports City Stadium on Friday.Off-break bowler Saeed Ajmal has put in a ordinary show in this series and apart bowling his poor batting let the team down when Pakistan was so close to victory in the third ODI.

Sialkot-based Rehman is good spinner and also capable of hitting, down the order and an agile fielder. Lets hope he deliver in the interest of the team, writes APP Sports Correspondent Ehsan Qureshi.

“Ajmal’s performance was not up to the mark so we would include Rehman in his place,” the Pakistan Captain has said after third ODI.

Shahid Afridi’s Pakistan team came in a whisker to take the lead in the series but went down fighting by mere two runs after needing four runs on the final ball in third ODI on Tuesday.
Experts of the game believed that batting is not going to be easy on this track. So batting holds the key for both teams.

Pakistan opener Imran Farhat and young Asad Shafiq batted too slow which build a huge pressure on middle order batting. Imran consumed 86 balls for 36 and Asad’s 43 came in 74 balls.
Former Pakistan skipper Younis Khan fell for a duck in the previous game after going to a poor umpiring decision in second ODI in Abu Dhabi, would be looking for big score to boost the team’s chances.

South African opener Hashim Amla set an example for all the batsmen with a remarkable century and batted throughout the 50 overs scoring an unbeaten 119 in 126 deliveries.

For Pakistan Fawad Alam really batted smartly under pressure and nearly gave Pakistan victory. Wahab Riaz batting was a revelation and his quickfire 21 in just 11 balls set the stage for victory. He has shown his status as an emerging all-rounder after a solid batting as night-watch-man during the Test series against England.

Proteas are enjoying 2-1 lead in the series. However Pakistan must win the fourth ODI to keep the series alive and send a message to their supporters that they are the best when written-off.

Whatever happens in tomorrow’s game, Pakistan has shown the way that they are capable of handling Proteas after disappointing start in the first Twenty20 Internationals and first ODI in Abu Dhabi.

However, it was Abdul Razzaq’s amazing century which carried Pakistan to a heart-stopping one wicket victory on the penultimate last Sunday.

Razzaq’s knock has changed the mood in Pakistan camp and their psychological approach which is the key in sports.

Pakistan team’s fighting spirit has generated a great deal of interest among the their supporters here as well bach home and Friday being the holiday a full house is expected in the 20,000 capacity stadium.

Pakistan team enjoyed the rest day on Wednesday and will be having training session under lights later on Thursday evening.

Teams from:

Pakistan:

Asad Shafiq, Muhammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi (Captain), Abdul Razzaq, Zulqarnain Haider (wicketkeeper), Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Akmal, Imran Farhat, Wahab Riaz, Tanveer Ahmed.

South Africa:

Graeme Smith (Captain), Hashim Amla, Coling Ingram, AB de Villiers (wicketkeeper), Jacques Kallis, Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Johan Botha, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morney Morkel, Robin Peterson, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Charl Langeveldt, Loots Boseman.