Akhtar to bolster Pakistan in crunch SAfrica match by AFP

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Player:	Shoaib Akhtar, Shoaib Malik
Event:	Pakistan in India 2007/08

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DateLine: 28th October 2007

 

Pakistan's captain hopes returning paceman Shoaib Akhtar can bowl the team to victory in the final match here Monday to clinch their first-ever one-day series against South Africa.

 

South Africa beat Pakistan in the fourth match in Multan on Friday to level the series 2-2 and set up a nail-biting finale in Lahore.

 

Pakistan recalled the controversial Akhtar on Friday after he finished serving a 13-match ban for hitting a teammate with a bat during practice.

 

"It is a great opportunity to win a series against South Africa for the first time and we will use Akhtar as our main bowler in the hope of bringing the best out of him," said captain Shoaib Malik after practice on Sunday.

 

The 32-year-old Akhtar was suspended and given a 34-million-rupee (US dollars 56,000) fine for hitting fellow bowler Mohammad Asif ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last month.

 

Malik said a fit Akhtar, who has been plagued with injuries this year, was an asset for the team as Pakistan looked ahead to the tour of India. The team will fly there on November 1 ahead of five one-day internationals to be followed by three Tests.

 

"If fit, Akhtar is an asset and has done well for Pakistan for so many years now. But we will need a team effort to win the last match and if we win we will go on an important tour of India with more confidence," said Malik.

 

However the Pakistan captain's counterpart Graeme Smith warned that the pressure was on Akhtar to perform after such a long absence.

 

"Akhtar is the one who is making a comeback not us. Certainly, we know what he is capable of. We are prepared for him in this game because we always knew he was available for the fifth game so it's not a surprise for us," the South African skipper said.

 

"He is short of cricket, it's the first game for him in a very long time so whether they will risk him or not is the key in such an important game."

 

South Africa, who won the earlier Test series, clinched the first one-day match in Lahore by 45 runs before losing the next two by 25 runs and six wickets respectively.

 

Smith remains confident of clinching the series but he described the Lahore wicket as "a touch underprepared" ahead of the decider.

 

"How it's going to play will be interesting to see but our confidence is good and that's always the key going into important games," he said.

 

"So far it's been a very successful tour for us, we played some really good cricket.

 

"We are confident ... it will be fantastic to finish off on a high note and then catch a nice flight back home," he added.

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)