De Klerk puts on a big show to script series win for South Africa
Written by I Dig SportsSouth Africa 169 for 4 (Brits 45, Goodall 36, Kapp 29*, de Klerk 24*, Iqbal 2-32) beat Pakistan 168 (Sana 69, Riaz 53, de Klerk 4-32, Klaas 3-14, Khaka 2-21) by six wickets
But de Klerk stood out. She picked up the first three Pakistan wickets to fall, inside her first two overs. The medium pacer struck with her first two deliveries, in the eighth over, getting both Muneeba Ali and Sadaf Shamas caught behind by wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta. First ball of her next over, she found a way through Sidra Ameen's defences to hit the stumps.
Pakistan were 20 for 3 in 9.1 overs at that stage, and Klaas and Khaka got their first wickets not long after, reducing Pakistan to 49 for 6 in the 18th over.
There was a fightback.
But, again, once they were separated, the end came early, with de Klerk, who had returned 3 for 23 in the first game, picking up her fourth wicket when she sent back Umm-e-Hani.
It didn't seem like a lot of runs. Almost exactly what Pakistan had scored in the first game (165) when responding to South Africa's 292 for 4, and South Africa put up a similarly strong performance with the bat in their chase on this occasion.
The third game will be played in Karachi, the same as the first two, on Thursday.