Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan and South Africa wicket-keeper batter Heinrich Klaasen had a heated argument on the field during the second ODI between the two sides at Cape Town on Thursday. Though there isn’t a confirmation on the matter of the argument, it has been claimed that the South Africa star wasn’t happy with the condition of the ball being used. Rizwan, however, was in no mood to pay heed to Klaasen’s complaints and suggested he should continue playing. The clash went on for a while, prompting other players and the umpires to intervene too.
The conversation took place during the break between the conclusion of the 26th over and the start of the 27th. Someone was even heard telling Klaasen to “shut up and play”. Here’s the video:
CONTROVERSY IN CAPE TOWN
KLAASEN NOT HAPPY WITH THE BALL CONDITION AND RIZWAN SAID SOMETHING TO HIM IN ENGLISH#SAvPAK #tapmad #DontStopStreaming #CatchEveryMatch pic.twitter.com/zmg4hKCsmz
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) December 19, 2024
As for the match, Pakistan emerged victorious despite Klaasen’s valiant 97-run knock. The win gave Pakistan an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
It was their fifth successive series win – and the third for the Champions Trophy hosts in the southern hemisphere season, following victories in Australia and Zimbabwe.
“It’s a team game, from beginning to end all of the guys are involved and contributing,” said Rizwan.
Babar and Rizwan, whose combined 204 one-day caps exceeded the total of the rest of the team, batted soundly and sensibly before Babar was out with the total on 192 in the 33rd over.
Rizwan followed three overs later to a sensational diving catch off his own bowling by 18-year-old one-day debutant Kwena Maphaka.
But the stage had been set for some power hitting by the batsmen who followed, notably player of the match Kamran Ghulam, who hit five sixes in making 63 off 32 balls.
With a licence to go for their shots, Pakistan scored 161 runs in the last 17 overs while losing their remaining six wickets.
“Me and Babar started slowly. We were looking for 300 but we got 320-plus. I have never seen Kamran Ghulam play an innings like that,” said Rizwan.
Left-arm fast-bowler Maphaka took heavy punishment but picked up four wickets while conceding 72 runs.
South Africa scored more briskly than Pakistan for most of their innings but although all of their first six batsmen made starts, only Klaasen made a significant score.
Klaasen, who made 86 in a losing cause in the first match in Paarl on Tuesday, hit eight fours and four sixes off 74 balls. He was the last man out, caught on the deep midwicket boundary.
With AFP Inputs
