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Cape Town: South Africa showed why they are the No. 1 Test team in the world with a clinical performance on day four of the second Test against Pakistan to clinch the series with a four-wicket victory on Sunday.
Excellent bowling in the morning session was backed up with steady batting under the hot sun as they chased down a victory target of 182.
South Africa now lead the three-match series 2-0 with one match remaining in Centurion starting on Feb. 22.
Hashim Amla anchored their chase with an enterprising 58 from 96 balls that drained the belief from the Pakistan bowlers.
The visitors picked up some late wickets to allow spinner Saeed Ajmal to record match figures of 10 for 147, but by then the game was lost.
Starting their innings 30 minutes after lunch having bowled Pakistan out for 169 in their second innings, the home side lost the early wicket of Alviro Petersen lbw to Umar Gul for one.
Graeme Smith (29) then became Ajmal’s first victim of the innings when he was also trapped in front going on the sweep, the second time in the Test he has been out in that fashion.
Jacques Kallis hit a brisk 21 before being dismissed lbw by Ajmal.
Amla was magnificent as he steered the ball all round the ground, but was bowled as he had an uncharacteristic wild swing at an Ajmal delivery, bringing an end to his fine knock. AB de Villiers (36) also played a reckless flashing cut that was caught by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed off Tanvir Ahmed to give the bowler his only wicket of the Test.
Faf du Plessis (15) was lbw to Ajmal with two runs needed, but Dean Elgar (11 not out) smashed the winning runs.
Perhaps fittingly, he was at the crease at the time with Man of the Match Robin Peterson (1 not out), who had changed the course of the match with his 84 on Saturday and fine bowling on the fourth morning. The victory was set up by South Africa taking seven Pakistan wickets for the addition of 69 runs.
The visitors resumed on 100 for three, but it was not long before the hosts had their first breakthrough.
Misbah-ul Haq attempted a poorly executed sweep off Peterson and sent a top-edge flying to Graeme Smith at leg slip, the batsman departing for a patient 44.
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