FAISALABAD: South Africa were seemingly cruising in the decisive One-day International here at the Iqbal Stadium on Saturday, when Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson decided he should pass on some instructions to his players.

Quinton de Kock and Lhuan-dre Pretorius had struck boundaries in a 72-run opening partnership but run-making had been difficult otherwise and that had given Hesson renewed hope. The message to his team was to keep doing the same.

“It was about staying patient and keep searching for wickets,” Hesson told a news conference after his side secured a rousing seven-wicket victory to seal a maiden ODI home series against the Proteas.

“It was about not getting frustrated, being happy with bowling dot balls and keeping up the pressure.”

The tactic soon bore fruit as South Africa added just 71 for the next nine wickets to be bundled out for 143 with spinners Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Nawaz scything through their line-up.

“The spinners did really well and I think the tone was set by Saim [Ayub] opening the bowling,” added Hesson, who was “delighted” with Abrar’s performance.

The spinner who was rested for the second game, which South Africa won to level the series, returned career-best figures of 4-27. “He had a few things to work on after the first ODI and I think he did wonderfully today,” said Hesson.

The New Zealander also praised new skipper Shaheen for his bowling changes. “Shaheen’s rotation of bowlers was excellent and he continues to grow in confidence,” noted the coach.

Pakistan eased to the target with 24.5 overs to spare thanks to Saim’s scintillating 77. The hosts had lost Fakhar Zaman early on but Babar Azam (27) provided Saim the reassuring support and lay the platform for the chase.

Babar had scores of seven and 11 in the first two ODIs but he showed full repertoire of his shots during his stay, and Hesson was convinced that there should be no questions regarding the right-hander’s form.

“Babar is in extremely good form,” he said. “He was good today. He came in a pressure situation but played his shots, unfortunately getting run out. I’d expect him to get a big score in the coming games.”

Pakistan next play Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series, starting on Nov 11, and Hesson was pleased with the outlook of his side.

“I think we’ve made progress … we’ve played well when [the series is on the line,” he said. “We’ve also tried different players. We’re a developing ODI side, we’re developing consistency. ODIs is what we’re focusing and today was a big step for us.”

The coach revealed that the struggling Hasan Nawaz was being dropped for the Sri Lanka series with Abdul Samad replacing him.

“Hasan will be going back to play domestic cricket so he can get time to get some batting under his belt,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2025