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Patna : Pakistan defeated South Africa (SA) by three wickets in 1st ODI at SuperSport Park, Centurion, SA, on April 2, 2021, night, as captain Babar Azam scored 103 in 104 balls hitting 17 fours, his 13th ODI century, and  opener Imam-ul-Haq scored 70 in 80 balls with 3 fours and 1 six. Mohammad Rizwan (wk) scored crucial 40 runs in 52 balls with 4 fours.

For SA, fast bowlrer  Anrich Nortje took 4/51 in 10 overs while fellow fast bowler Kagiso Rabada took 1/51 in 10 overs. Pakistan had won the toss and opted to bowl. Babar Azam was named Player Of The Match. Pakistan now lead the three-match ODI series  1-0. Chasing a target of 274 runs, Pakistan scored 274/7 in 50 overs scoring the winning run on last ball.

Batting first, SA scored 273/6 in 50 overs with van der dussen scoring 123 runs in 134 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes, his maiden ODI ton,  while David Miller scored 50 runs in 56 balls with 5 fours. Captain Temba Bavuma fell to fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain, 20,  while opener Quinton de Kock fell to fast bowler Shaheen Afridi for 20. His opening partner Aiden Markram also fell to Afridi for 19. All-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo fell to fast bowler  Haris Raug for 29 in 35 balls hitting 4 fours.

Pakistan lost their first wicket that of opener Fakhar Zaman (8) with only 9 runs on board. But, Babar AZam and opener Imam-ul-Haq added 177 runs for the 2nd wicket. Azam fell to Nortje for 103. Haq also fell to Nortje for 70 making it 193/3.