Calcutta/Birmingham: Pakistan were provided with a fresh lease of life as rain helped them open their account in this Champions Trophy with a 19-run win (via D/L method) over South Africa at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

After bowlers restricted South Africa to a modest 219 for eight, Pakistan were steady in their reply, reaching 119 for three in 27 overs with both Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik well set and looking solid. But rain intervened once again and after continuous drizzle for the next couple of overs, the game was finally called off.

And Pakistan had every reason to be happy as they were well above the D/L par score, which was 100. Things become really tougher for South Africa now, as they must beat India in their next game in order to advance to the semi-finals.

Faced with a do-or-die situation, a fired-up Pakistan came up with an inspiring piece of bowling to restrict South Africa.

After an embarrassing defeat against India, Pakistan bowlers bowled their hearts out after South Africa elected to bat on a slightly slower wicket.

The spinners choked the Proteas in the beginning with three strikes and later, the pacemen pulled the rug from under South Africa's feet with disciplined spells.

Had it not been for a fighting knock from David Miller (75 not out) and his timely 47-run stand with Chris Morris (28) for the seventh wicket, the Proteas would have even struggled to get close to the 200-run mark.

It was Miller's slowest fifty in ODI cricket as he took 83 balls to complete it. But it came at a crucial time for his side. Miller's unbeaten 75-run knock had only four boundaries.

Miller also found some good support from Kagiso Rabada, who came up with 26 runs as the they added 48 runs for the eight wicket. These two partnerships, after South Africa were struggling at 118 for six, propped up the Proteas innings to an extent.

Left-arm spinner Imad Wasim took two wickets upfront while Hasan Ali (3/18) wiped off the middle order in a sensational three-wicket burst that turned the tide in favour of Pakistan. Pacers Mohammed Aamir and Junaid Khan (2/53) did not take many wickets, but peppered the South Africans with well-calculated yorkers to further choke them.

Pakistan spinners proved very effective early in the South African innings with Wasim (2/20) and Mohammed Hafeez (1/51) cleaning up the top-order within 15 overs.

Wasim, introduced in the ninth over, struck with his second ball to break the steady opening stand. He trapped Hashim Amla (16) leg-before wicket and handed captain AB de Villiers his first-ever dismissal on nought in the one-day format.

De Villiers flashed hard at one, but hit straight to point where Hafeez took a simple catch.

Hafeez, in the meantime, sent back a well-set Quinton de Kock (33), who used his feet very well before attempting a sweep and was caught in front of the wicket. Together, they bowled 14 overs in tandem, not giving easy runs to the South African batsmen.

Faf du Plessis (26) and Miller had to work hard to keep the scoreboard ticking, but they could not build a big partnership as Hasan came out to ball and removed the former with the second ball of his spell. Hasan pitched it slightly outside off, Du Plessis went for a drive but dragged it back onto the stumps. It left South Africa wobbling at 90 for four in 22.2 overs.

The pacer wreaked havoc a few overs later when he sent back JP Duminy and Wayne Parnell in successive balls. Duminy chased a wide delivery and ended up being taken at the slip cordon by Babar Azam, while a faster one crashed through the defences of Parnell.

The wickets meant South Africa were in tatters, at 118 for six, putting Pakistan on top in the contest. Miller and Morris then repaired the innings a bit before Junaid broke their stand.

"I think the wicket is a bit slow, but it's still a good batting track. It's the third match on the strip and hence the slowness. So, pace off the ball is key," left-arm spinner Wasim said later.

Speaking of his performance with the ball, Wasim said: "I generally bowl a wicket-to-wicket line, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But honestly, this kind of wicket suits me."

Apart from their tight bowling, Pakistan also fielded well on the day. "We are a good fielding side... Don't know what happened in our last game. The guys might have been under pressure, but today we showed we are certainly a good fielding side," Wasim stressed.

Moreover, captain Sarfraz Ahmed, after losing the toss on this occasion, did the right thing in giving the new ball to the quality fast bowlers in the form of Mohammed Aamir and Junaid Khan, something that's expected in English conditions.