London: After Haris Sohail (89, 59b, 9×4, 3×6) marked his return with a scintillating half century, Pakistan bowlers dished out a brilliant performance to help themselves beat South Africa by 49 runs in their World Cup encounter here Sunday.
Chasing 308 runs, the South African batsmen got starts but couldn’t make it big baring skipper Faf du Plessis (63, 79b, 5×4) as they managed 259/9 to slump to their fifth loss in the competition. Shadab Khan (3/50), Mohammad Amir (2/37) and Wahab Riaz (2/43) were the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan.
Earlier, playing in his first match of the tournament since the outing against West Indies in their opener, Sohail smashed all round the park to help the cause of Pakistan, who are struggling to stay alive in the semifinal race.
The 30-year-old Sohail added 81 runs for the fourth wicket with Babar Azam (69, 80b, 7×4), but it was his brisk 71-run partnership with Imad Wasim (23) that gave Pakistan innings the impetus it needed in this must-win game.
For South Africa, pacers Lungi Ngidi (3/64) and Imran Tahir (2/41) did most of the damage picking five wickets between them.
Brief scores: Pakistan 307/8 (Haris Sohail 89, Babar Azam 69; Lungi Ngidi 3/64) beat South Africa 259/9 (Faf du Plessis 63; Shadab Khan 3/50) by 49 runs.