All-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo relished the Man of the Match award as South Africa beat Pakistan by five wickets in Tuesday’s second ODI at Kingsmead in Durban.

Phehlukwayo snared telling figures of 4-22 in Pakistan’s final total of 203 all out – and later struck 69 not out in a successful pursuit with eight overs to spare.

His batting and bowling efforts were ODI career bests, surpassing October 2017’s 4-40 against Bangladesh at Boland Park in Paarl, and October 2016’s 42 not out against Australia in Durban.

The 22-year-old enjoyed an unbroken 127-run alliance with fellow half-centurion Rassie van der Dussen – and a particularly challenging encounter with spinner Shadab Khan.

‘I’ve got a role to play. If you hit the deck hard, there was a bit in there. I was a bit nervous to begin with when I batted. Rassie did a good job of calming me down. I stuck to my plans and played with intensity,’ said Phehlukwayo.

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The latest issue of SA Cricket magazine (Jan-Mar 2019) is on shelf now. Proteas star spinner Imran Tahir is at the top of his game as the Proteas head into key series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, at the same time gearing up for their greatest challenge: Mission Cricket World Cup 2019. ‘It is not easy to play at the highest level for so long,’ says Tahir. ‘People don’t see the hard work behind the scenes … I still get up every morning feeling like I want to do well for my country.’ Also in the new issue: #cricket #imrantahir #TabraizShamsi #HeinrichKlaasen #ChloeTryon #AndilePhehlukwayo #BenStokes #DaleSteyn #BasilDoliveira #Worcestershirecricketclub #GraemePollock #JPDuminy #HDAckerman #DonovanMiller #MickeyArthur #KenosiMashwabi #MohammadAbbas #muhammadabbas #MarcoMarais #AnrichNortje #JonathanBird @imrantahir.sa @shamsi90 @heinie45 @chloetryon25 @andile_phehlukwayo @stokesy @dalesteyn @jpduminy @hdackerman @doncricket2004 @MickeyArthur @kenosibridge @muhammadabbas310

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‘Shadab was one of the hardest to pick. At the end of the day, it was good cricket. I’m a positive person, I really like scoring boundaries and making runs.’

The result levelled the five-match series one-all. The third ODI will be played at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday. The Wanderers in Johannesburg and Newlands in Cape Town will host fixtures four and five respectively.

‘Andile has played a few games for us, but he’s playing for the No 7 place and it was a great knock. I think it was a two-paced one-day wicket. There was a lot happening earlier and later it got easier under lights,’ said host captain Faf du Plessis.

‘It has been an amazing start to Rassie’s ODI career. I am very pleased to see the way he’s playing. What you look for in new players is composure and calmness at the crease.’

Photo: Gallo