Malik fires Pakistan to hefty total
The Wisden Bulletin by Chandrahas Choudhury - October 3, 2003
50 overs Pakistan 277 for 6 (Malik 82*, Youhana 68, Hameed 56)
Scorecard
A spectacular innings by Shoaib Malik, who made 82 off 41 balls and hit five sixes in the last two overs alone, undid all the good work done by South Africa in the first 40 overs of the innings, and took Pakistan to 276 for 6 in the first one-day international at Lahore.
Malik came in with Pakistan 167 for 4 in the 39th over, about thirty runs short of what they would have liked to be at that stage after two wasteful out run-outs. A natural hitter of the ball, Malik played with great flair from the very beginning, keeping pace with Inzamam-ul-Haq in a partnership of 74 for the fifth wicket.
**None of the South African bowlers bowled at a pace that could trouble him, and as he grew in confidence he proceeded to get down on one knee to the bowlers, get his left leg out of the way, and mow the bowling over mid-wicket and mid-on. :madhosh: ** The last two overs, bowled by Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis respectively, were carted for 42 runs. **Even in an age in which a number of batsmen excel in this kind of late-innings hitting, Malik’s strokemaking, his exceptional eye, and immense power and co-ordination all stood out. **
Malik’s half-century was the third made by a Pakistani batsman on the day, and undoubtedly the most crucial. Earlier, Yasir Hameed and Yousuf Youhana played accomplished innings, but both were out just when they would have been looking to up the scoring-rate.
Hameed had been in wonderful form against Bangladesh, with two hundreds in the Test matches and his maiden ODI hundred in the one-dayers, but it was expected that South Africa would provide a tougher examination of his technique. However, he started confidently this afternoon, helped by some loose bowling from Makhaya Ntini, and looked in no trouble whatsoever against the South African bowlers. He lost his opening partner Mohammad Hafeez in the fifth over - Hafeez struggled to get Pollock away and after 15 dot-balls he worked him straight to square-leg - **but Hameed batted sensibly in the company of Youhana, working the ball away for singles and picking up the odd boundary with drives through the off side or his trademark flick over mid-wicket. ** :k: (after all miandad is the coach )
The eventual manner of his dismissal would have surprised no one who saw Hameed and Youhana bat together in the one-day internationals against Bangladesh. Hameed punched the left-arm spinner Peterson towards long-off and set off for a run, but Graeme Smith made good ground at cover to cut the ball off, and Hameed was left stranded halfway down the wicket by Youhana, who let his attention be diverted by the fielder. Youhana was run out in a similar mix-up with Hameed in the first one-day international against Bangladesh when one short of a half-century, and now he returned the compliment and sent Hameed on his way for 56 (100 for 2). 
Younis Khan added 42 with Youhana for the third wicket, but he too left in similar fashion just after he had played himself in. An edge onto the pads off Pollock spurted out into the off side, and both batsmen took a few token steps down the wicket without ever looking as if they were seriously contemplating a run. Khan was slow to consider the threat of Peterson swooping down on the ball, and was beaten by his throw as he made a clumsy attempt to regain his ground.
Youhana himself then failed to carry a good start through to the end, nicking a ball from Andrew Hall and departing for 68 (167 for 4). But as it turned out, he needn’t have worried, for Malik was more than up to the task of carrying Pakistan through to a sizeable total. South Africa’s bowling and fielding was disciplined for the best part of the innings, but Smith would have left the field conscious of the lack of penetration in the bowling, and especially the thinness of his spin bowling resources. Peterson’s eight overs of left-arm spin were no more than adequate, and with Makhaya Ntini having an off-day, too much responsibility was thrust on the shoulders of Kallis, Andrew Hall and Alan Dawson. In the end, not even Pollock could escape the force of Malik’s flashing blade.