AUCKLAND, New Zealand, September 21, 2026: Pakistan had removed eight South African batters, yet AB de Villiers was still making their lead look fragile. A modest total, already weakened by Pakistan’s own collapse, offered little protection against a captain striking boundaries with the lower order for company.
Then Sohail Khan found the edge that mattered most. Sarfaraz Ahmed caught de Villiers for 77, and Pakistan completed a 29-run victory under the Duckworth-Lewis method at Eden Park on March 7, 2015.
South Africa finished 202 all out chasing a revised 232 from 47 overs. Pakistan’s third consecutive victory revived a campaign that had begun with two defeats.
Match 30 in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs belongs in the collection because Pakistan won through sustained wicket-taking, while Sarfaraz’s contribution connected their batting recovery to their bowling success.
Story at a glance
Sarfaraz Ahmed Gave Pakistan More Than an Opening Partnership
Playing his first match of the tournament after missing Pakistan’s opening four games, Sarfaraz scored 49 from 49 balls. Five fours and three sixes supplied 38 of those runs, giving Pakistan an attacking option before the middle overs tightened.
Misbah-ul-Haq Held the Innings Together, but Pakistan Wasted Their Finish
Misbah’s 56 from 86 deliveries gave Pakistan continuity after Sarfaraz departed. Younis contributed 37, while Shahid Afridi’s 22 from 15 briefly offered late acceleration.
Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel Earned South Africa a Winning Position
Steyn’s 3/30 from ten overs combined wickets with control. Morkel conceded only 25 from 9.4 overs and took two wickets, while Kyle Abbott added another two.
Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz Turned 67/1 Into 77/5
Mohammad Irfan dismissed de Kock with the second ball of the chase, but Amla and du Plessis responded with a 67-run partnership.
AB de Villiers Kept the Result Uncertain
De Villiers scored 77 from 58 deliveries, including seven fours and five sixes. Sixty-eight percent of his runs came in boundaries.
Match at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Match | Pakistan vs South Africa |
| Competition | ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 |
| Stage | Pool B, tournament match 29 |
| Date | March 7, 2015 |
| Venue | Eden Park, Auckland |
| Toss | South Africa elected to field |
| Pakistan | 222 all out in 46.4 overs |
| Revised target | South Africa needed 232 from 47 overs |
| South Africa | 202 all out in 33.3 overs |
| Result | Pakistan won by 29 runs, D/L method |
| Player of the Match | Sarfaraz Ahmed: 49 runs and six catches |
| Leading batters | AB de Villiers 77; Misbah-ul-Haq 56 |
| Leading bowlers | Dale Steyn 3/30; Rahat Ali 3/40; Wahab Riaz 3/45; Mohammad Irfan 3/52 |
| Central turning point | South Africa fell from 67/1 to 77/5 |
| Tournament consequence | Pakistan strengthened their quarterfinal prospects |
Sarfaraz Ahmed Gave Pakistan More Than an Opening Partnership
Playing his first match of the tournament after missing Pakistan’s opening four games, Sarfaraz scored 49 from 49 balls. Five fours and three sixes supplied 38 of those runs, giving Pakistan an attacking option before the middle overs tightened.
His 62-run partnership with Younis Khan lifted Pakistan from 30/1 to 92 before a run-out ended his innings.
The larger contribution came behind the stumps. Sarfaraz caught Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, de Villiers, and Imran Tahir.
Those six catches equaled the ODI wicketkeeping record for dismissals in an innings. His Player of the Match award reflected two substantial contributions: runs at the start and completed dismissals throughout the defense.
Misbah-ul-Haq Held the Innings Together, but Pakistan Wasted Their Finish
Misbah’s 56 from 86 deliveries gave Pakistan continuity after Sarfaraz departed. Younis contributed 37, while Shahid Afridi’s 22 from 15 briefly offered late acceleration.
However, Pakistan lost their final five wickets for ten runs, falling from 212/5 to 222 all out.
That collapse left the bowlers with little margin. Misbah’s innings helped prevent a smaller total, but the supporting batters failed to build enough around him to make Pakistan’s position comfortable.
Rain reduced the contest to 47 overs per side, and South Africa’s target became 232. The ICC’s explanation of rain-adjusted targets describes how interruptions alter the resources available to each innings.
Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel Earned South Africa a Winning Position
Steyn’s 3/30 from ten overs combined wickets with control. Morkel conceded only 25 from 9.4 overs and took two wickets, while Kyle Abbott added another two.
Their combined figures were seven wickets for 100 runs in 28.4 overs. Pakistan found scoring considerably easier against the supporting options: de Villiers and JP Duminy conceded 77 between them in nine overs.
South Africa’s principal seamers had done enough to give their batting a manageable assignment. The defeat should not obscure how effectively they restricted Pakistan.
Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz Turned 67/1 Into 77/5
Mohammad Irfan dismissed de Kock with the second ball of the chase, but Amla and du Plessis responded with a 67-run partnership.
Rahat broke that stand by removing du Plessis. Wahab dismissed Amla at the start of the next over, then removed Rilee Rossouw. Rahat trapped David Miller lbw for a 13-ball duck.
Four wickets had fallen for ten runs.
The sequence explains Pakistan’s approach better than the final margin. South Africa could score quickly enough, but they could not preserve partnerships. Nine of their ten dismissals were catches, including six behind the wicket.
Pakistan’s three left-arm fast bowlers shared nine wickets. Their different release heights and pace profiles gave the attack variety, while repeated breakthroughs prevented South Africa from settling.
There was a familiar thread running back to Pakistan’s defense against Australia at Headingley in 1999: defending a total required attacking the batting order rather than waiting for the required rate to rise.
AB de Villiers Kept the Result Uncertain
De Villiers scored 77 from 58 deliveries, including seven fours and five sixes. Sixty-eight percent of his runs came in boundaries.
He kept South Africa threatening even as partners disappeared. At 172/8, Pakistan still needed to remove him or finish the innings at the other end.
Sohail supplied the decisive breakthrough at 200, with Sarfaraz completing the catch. Wahab dismissed Tahir soon afterward.
South Africa had entered this match following consecutive totals above 400. Here, their defeat came with 81 deliveries unused. Time was plentiful; surviving batters were not.
That vulnerability also connects this match with England’s defense of 171 against South Africa in 2011, although Pakistan’s pace attack created a different set of problems.
Why This Victory Deserves Its Place
Eden Park had already staged New Zealand’s one-wicket escape against Australia. Pakistan added another example of a modest total producing a demanding chase.
This was Pakistan’s first victory over South Africa in a men’s ODI World Cup. It strengthened their qualification position without securing passage immediately.
Pakistan subsequently beat Ireland to reach the quarterfinals, with Sarfaraz scoring an unbeaten century. South Africa also advanced and eventually suffered their semifinal defeat against New Zealand.
The lasting value of Auckland lies in the interaction between selection and execution. Sarfaraz contributed at both ends of Pakistan’s performance, and the fast bowlers gave him chances worth taking.
Explore the complete ODI classics collection and TSE’s wider cricket coverage.
Complete Match Scorecard
Pakistan Batting
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarfaraz Ahmed | run out (Miller/de Kock) | 49 | 49 | 5 | 3 | 100.00 |
| Ahmed Shehzad | c Steyn b Abbott | 18 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 60.00 |
| Younis Khan | c Rossouw b de Villiers | 37 | 44 | 4 | 0 | 84.09 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | c Morkel b Steyn | 56 | 86 | 4 | 0 | 65.12 |
| Sohaib Maqsood | c Rossouw b Abbott | 8 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Umar Akmal | c de Villiers b Morkel | 13 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 65.00 |
| Shahid Afridi | c Duminy b Steyn | 22 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 146.67 |
| Wahab Riaz | lbw b Tahir | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Sohail Khan | c Duminy b Morkel | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 27.27 |
| Rahat Ali | c Tahir b Steyn | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16.67 |
| Mohammad Irfan | Not out | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
Extras: 14: 7 leg byes, 6 wides, 1 no-ball
Total: 222 all out in 46.4 overs
Fall of wickets: 30/1, Shehzad (8.4); 92/2, Sarfaraz (16.4); 132/3, Younis (26.4); 156/4, Maqsood (31.6); 175/5, Umar (36.5); 212/6, Afridi (41.4); 212/7, Wahab (42.1); 218/8, Misbah (43.5); 221/9, Rahat (45.2); 222/10, Sohail (46.4).
South Africa Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Runs | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dale Steyn | 10 | 30 | 3 | 3.00 |
| Kyle Abbott | 9 | 45 | 2 | 5.00 |
| Morne Morkel | 9.4 | 25 | 2 | 2.59 |
| Imran Tahir | 9 | 38 | 1 | 4.22 |
| AB de Villiers | 6 | 43 | 1 | 7.17 |
| JP Duminy | 3 | 34 | 0 | 11.33 |
South Africa Batting
Revised target: 232 from 47 overs
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinton de Kock | c Sarfaraz b Irfan | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Hashim Amla | c Sarfaraz b Wahab | 38 | 27 | 9 | 0 | 140.74 |
| Faf du Plessis | c Sarfaraz b Rahat | 27 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 93.10 |
| Rilee Rossouw | c Sohail b Wahab | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| AB de Villiers | c Sarfaraz b Sohail | 77 | 58 | 7 | 5 | 132.76 |
| David Miller | lbw b Rahat | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| JP Duminy | c Wahab b Irfan | 12 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 92.31 |
| Dale Steyn | c Sarfaraz b Irfan | 16 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 94.12 |
| Kyle Abbott | c Younis b Rahat | 12 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 63.16 |
| Morne Morkel | Not out | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Imran Tahir | c Sarfaraz b Wahab | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Extras: 8: 1 leg bye, 7 wides
Total: 202 all out in 33.3 overs
Fall of wickets: 0/1, de Kock (0.2); 67/2, du Plessis (9.3); 67/3, Amla (10.1); 74/4, Rossouw (12.2); 77/5, Miller (15.5); 102/6, Duminy (19.4); 138/7, Steyn (23.6); 172/8, Abbott (29.2); 200/9, de Villiers (32.2); 202/10, Tahir (33.3).
Pakistan Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Runs | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammad Irfan | 8 | 52 | 3 | 6.50 |
| Sohail Khan | 5 | 36 | 1 | 7.20 |
| Rahat Ali | 8 | 40 | 3 | 5.00 |
| Shahid Afridi | 5 | 28 | 0 | 5.60 |
| Wahab Riaz | 7.3 | 45 | 3 | 6.00 |
Scorecard, dismissals, and wicket sequences checked against match 656455 in Cricsheet’s ODI ball-by-ball dataset.
Continue A Celebration of 5000 ODIs
A Celebration of 5000 ODIsA Celebration of 5000 ODIs Match 29: Elliott’s Six Breaks New Zealand’s Semifinal Barrier and South African Hearts
A Celebration of 5000 ODIsA Celebration of 5000 ODIs Match 28: Williamson’s Six Saves New Zealand From Starc’s Stunning Fightback
A Celebration of 5000 ODIsA Celebration of 5000 ODIs Match 27: New Zealand Turn South Africa’s Comfortable Chase Into World Cup HeartbreakFrequently Asked Questions
Who won Pakistan vs South Africa at the 2015 World Cup?
Pakistan won by 29 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method at Eden Park on March 7, 2015.
Why was the winning margin 29 runs rather than 20?
Pakistan scored 222, but rain adjustments set South Africa a target of 232. South Africa’s 202 was 29 below the adjusted par score of 231.
Who was Player of the Match?
Sarfaraz Ahmed won the award after scoring 49 from 49 balls and taking six catches.
Which South African batters did Sarfaraz catch?
Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers, and Imran Tahir.
What was the main turning point?
South Africa lost four wickets for ten runs, falling from 67/1 to 77/5. Sohail Khan’s later dismissal of de Villiers ended the strongest remaining threat.
How many wickets did Pakistan’s left-arm pacers take?
Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali, and Wahab Riaz took three each, accounting for nine of South Africa’s ten wickets.
Did the victory secure Pakistan’s quarterfinal place?
No. Pakistan subsequently beat Ireland on March 15 to confirm qualification. The Pool B results and standings document the progression.
