Pakistan 329 all out (Rizwan 80, Babar 73, Maphaka 4-72) batted South Africa 247 all out (Klaasen 97, Shaheen 4-47, Naseem 3-37) by 82 runs

Pakistan produced their best all-round ODI performance across all three series over the past six weeks, dismantling South Africa by 81 runs and sealing a third consecutive ODI series win.

South Africa started the chase in much the same way they started in the first innings in Paarl – with conviction and purpose. From the moment the returning Temba Bavuma bowled Afridi off his pads for four from the first ball, South Africa were up and running, routinely piercing the dense infield to find the boundaries they needed to keep the asking rate at bay. When Naseem Shah got a lead from the South African captain to draw first blood, Tony de Zorzi and Rassie van der Dussen continued at the same brisk pace and South Africa had much the better of the opening powerplay.

However, the hosts were plagued by the clumps of wickets Pakistan have found a knack for taking to slow the opposition’s momentum. De Zorzi, van der Dussen and Aiden Markram all fell within 39 runs of each other, immediately putting all the pressure on Klaasen to perform another Houdini act. Along with David Miller, he looked to have set South Africa back on course with a partnership that combined safety with aggression, the run-a-ball 72 they added brought the hosts back into the contest.

But Afridi chose his moment to deliver perhaps his most impressive spell since suffering the injury two years ago that has somewhat halted his career. With the lights at full effect and the competition poised on a tight rope, he found it within himself to bowl closer to 140km/h and angle his wrist position to take advantage of the reverse swing that suddenly appeared to be on offer. He whizzed one past Miller and cut him in half – or so we all thought; Afridi was sure it had kissed the inside edge and when they went on top, the tech carried him out.

But it was the dismissal of Marco Jansen that had the greatest technical purity. As it came around the wicket, it angled into the middle stump before appearing to veer away, with Jansen’s bat nowhere near it as it crashed into the base of mid-on and off. He found late swing at such a pace that even the umpire struggled to pick it up and it took another review to determine that Andile Phehlukwayo had been hit on the toe before the ball hit his bat and that he was indeed upright in front.

All this time Klaasen had been fighting alone and, as it became increasingly clear, was losing the battle. He was particularly ruthless in taking last match hero Salman Agha down on the back foot for his trademark hook over the cow corner and used his range effectively to cut the ball into the offside. If anything, he was guilty of not protecting the strike better as he approached his own hundred and eventually ran out of partners when he hit Naseem to deep midwicket in a doomed attempt to reach a well-deserved hundred .

Babar scored his first half-century in 22 innings, combining with his old friend Rizwan in a 115-run third wicket partnership as Pakistan set South Africa an impressive 330 to chase. However, that figure never looked that steep when the two struck and it only ballooned thanks to a blistering late flurry from Ghulam who hit 63 off 32 balls. They were helped by South Africa falling away sharply with their lines as well as in the field.

Pakistan’s level of urgency dropped immediately, with Babar and Rizwan opting for the more classic pace that comes so naturally to them. Both tried to work their way back into the runs and with South Africa happy to stifle the scoring than go for wickets, the game looked set to enter an innings where each side got what they wanted.

There were still moments of belligerence, such as when Rizwan smeared Markram over the cow corner for six and Babar milked the spinners for the occasional boundary. But the asking rate was hovering steadily between 4.75 and 5.1 and it was clear that Pakistan were backsliding the innings.

Babar had gone past 50 and looked to be heading for the elusive hundred, but then he hit Phehlukwayo straight to Markram at short midwicket, which almost held on after it thumped into his chest. Maphaka got rid of Rizwan with a magnificent diving return catch and South Africa suddenly gained momentum.

But Ghulam appreciated such performances. Alongside Salman, who punished some errant bowling, Ghulam demonstrated his worth as a lower-order power hitter, making excellent use of his lower hand as he smashed five sixes in a whirlwind of a knock. The half-century came up in just 25 deliveries, with both pace and spin taken to task. Irfan Niazi, Shaheen and Haris Rauf were good value for the odd six from the other end but until he struck out to Maphaka in the last over and the late charge which saw Pakistan score 128 in the last 12 overs was huge looked down to Ghulam.

That it was possible, however, was because Pakistan had done something that has eluded South Africa all series. They had plodded their way through an ODI innings keeping wickets in hand. Klaasen may well have been equally adept at playing the Ghulam role at the death, but when he went down on his knees after Pakistan’s victory, he simply had no one to play it with.