Rassie van der Dussen century helps Proteas score 273-6 in first Pakistan ODI

A resilient unbeaten century by Rassie van der Dussen helped South Africa reach 273-6 in the first one day international against Pakistan at Centurion in South Africa.

Van der Dussen remained unbeaten for his 123 in 134 balls that also included 10 boundaries and two sixes.

Pakistan bowlers sent South Africa to the ropes as the hosts were reduced to 4-55 in the 15 overs.

However, David Miller and Van der Dussen put a resilient partnership of 116 runs for the fifth wicket to take their team back on the track. Miller scored 50 off 56 balls before he was caught behind by wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan on delivery of Haris Rauf.

Andile Phehlukwayo also chipped in with useful 29 runs off 35 balls.

For Pakistan, Faheem Ashraf was the most economical bowler who gave away only 25 runs in his nine overs and also picked the wicket of Heinrich Klaasen who could manage only one run off 21 balls.

Shaheen Shah Afridi took 2-62 in his 10 overs while Rauf took 2-72 in his allotted quota of overs. M Hasnain (1-52) was another wicket-taking bowler. Shadab Khan gave away 45 runs in his eight overs while debutant all-rounder Danish Aziz gave 16 runs off his three overs. Both spinners remained wicketless.

Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat in the first one-day international at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

At the toss, Pakistan captain Babar Azam said the presence of some moisture in the pitch influenced his decision to bowl first.

Temba Bavuma, captaining South Africa for the first time, said South Africa would seek to post a total of about 280. "There might be something in the wicket for the bowlers but on this ground, we can score quite a lot at the end if there are wickets in hand."

Pakistan gave a first cap to batsman Danish Aziz. Both teams opted for pace-based bowling attacks, with three specialist fast bowlers, one spinner and a seam-bowling all-rounder.

The three-match series is part of the International Cricket Council’s World Cup Super League.

BRIEF SCORES: South Africa 273-6 in 50 overs (H. van der Dussen 123 not out, D. Miller 50; Shaheen Afridi 2-61, Haris Rauf 2-72).

MATCH SITUATION: Pakistan need 274 runs to win

TEAMS:

SOUTH AFRICA: Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock (wkt), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi

PAKISTAN: Babar Azam (capt), Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), Danish Aziz, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf