Dubai: South Africa's skipper Graeme Smith showed the way for his team with an elegant 92 off 105 balls studded with nine sparkling boundaries. Though returning from an injury that forced him to miss two matches, Smith batted as brilliantly as he often does.
South Africa could not have posted a challenging total of 274 for 6 on a wicket where runs was hard to come but for Smith's knock. Pakistan too had bowled tightly with their left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz producing a hat-trick chance performance and Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Hafeez picking two wickets each.
Ever since Smith took over the captaincy at the age of 22, he has shown the way. When he took the mantle of captaincy he was the youngest captain to lead South Africa but soon he transformed into their mainstay batsman too.
Smith is only 29 years old and in the seven years as captain he has not only guided South Africa to many spectacular victories but also inspired youngsters to perform for him. Each and every stroke he played yesterday at the Dubai International Stadium had the stamp of class.
Smith, who is muscular and mighty, gives the feeling of a giant at the wicket. The bat resembles like a small toy in his hand but when he hits the ball it races to the boundary in a flash.
All the boundaries he hit were perfectly placed. The way he plays the spin using his feet and huge body is a treat to watch. In fact, when he batted with an equally well built Jacques Kallis adding 27 runs for the second wicket, Pakistan bowling looked very easy.
It is a fact that both are the giants of South African cricket and they will play a vital role in the oncoming World Cup.
On a day when their inform batsman Hashim Amla fell for 10 top edging to Imran Farhat for 10 and Kallis becoming a Mohammad Hafeez victim for 15 runs, South Africa needed a steady batsman in the middle.
Smith got a good partner in AB de Villiers too. They posted 94 runs in 16.5overs, which is the highest third wicket partnership in Dubai. Smith guided South Africa to a strong position of 156 for 2 with twenty more overs remaining in the match, when he fell leg before to Hafeez. Though he wasn't happy with the decision, television replays showed that umpire Zameer Haider's decision was correct. It deprived Smith of his ninth One-day hundred which he deserved for his effort and to justify his decision of electing to bat first after winning the toss.
