MoM Shaun Pollock en route to his 90 in Multan on Friday. (AP)

Multan: Sparkling half centuries from Graeme Smith and Shaun Pollock set South Africa up for a comfortable seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the fourth one-day International to level the series on Friday.

South Africa easily chased down Pakistan’s 230 for nine with 74 balls to spare to leave the series tied at 2-2 with the final game to be played in Lahore on Monday.

Pollock, whose 90 was his highest score for South Africa, and Smith, who scored 81, put on a record partnership of 159 from 157 balls for the second wicket.

They surpassed the 155 by AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis against Pakistan earlier this year at Johannesburg.

Both were out just three runs short of victory, pacer Rao Iftikhar having them caught in the deep in successive overs.

Smith, who scored his 31st half-century, batted with considerable ease in his 103-ball knock while Pollock made his 13th fifty striking nine boundaries and one six from 84 balls.

Smith’s only blemish was on 74 when pacer Umar Gul put down a caught and bowled chance.

Gul also dropped Herschelle Gibbs on 35 and in the 35th over dismissed Pollock and Smith with successive deliveries that were called no-balls.

South Africa were given a blistering start by Gibbs who powered 39 from 35 balls including seven boundaries, three of them in one over from Gul.

(REUTERS)