South Africa might still be sitting in their rooms bewildered at what happened at Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Sunday. Charl Langeveldt and Albie Morkel might still be having night mares of Abdul Razzaq clearing his left leg and hitting them straight over their heads. Series has come alive suddenly, Pakistan never looked like making an impact and out of nowhere they did, or only Abdul Razzaq did. The two teams meet again on 2nd November for the third of the five match ODI at Dubai Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
Pakistan, the home teams in their captain's words are feeling good about themselves and are more committed as a unit to win now. They have to beat the fact in mind that they were completely outplayed by South Africans for the 96 overs of the game; it was only the individual brilliance of Abdul Razzaq that took them home.
Pakistan are making ridiculous changes to their squad, leaving their two best players Umar Akmal and Umar Gul out of the team. The bowling in the both the games have been inconsistent an unplanned. The conditions in Tuesday's game are very unlikely to be different. The bowlers might struggle in front of strong South African batting. It would be fascinating to see if Pakistan can build on their success.
Pakistan have managed three victories off their last five ODIs
Abdul Razzaq's on slaught brought an end to South Africa's run of 10 successive wins. The Proteas dominated 90 percent of the game but ended up on losing side. An over shadowed hundred by Colin Ingram, and positive forms of Hashim Amla and JP Duminy are a good sign. South African captain Johan Botha can be blamed for the loss, poor bowling selection and ineffective field settings gave Razzaq free hand to smash the ball all over the park.
Horrific form of Albie Morkel ahead of the World Cup is a worry for South Africans, but the country has never been short of quality all rounders. Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis are not yet certain to play in the third ODI on Tuesday. LL Tsotsobe was again the pick of South African bowlers in a high scoring game taking one for 39 in his ten.
The surprise selection of Robin Peterson, the left arm spinner worked well for South Africa. It is likely that Kallis and Smith will return. South Africa would surely be relieved to see their captain back on field if that happens.
