Scorecard

Mark Boucher and Justin Kemp scored half-centuries to rally South Africa to a competitive 213 for 8 against Pakistan in a Group B match of the ICC Champions Trophy, at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium, in Mohali, on Friday.

Electing to bat first, South Africa were reduced to 42 for 5 on a lively pitch, offering a lot of help to the Pakistan fast bowlers in the early overs.

Boucher counter-attacked in style with a brisk innings of 69 from 98 balls. He added 130 runs for the sixth wicket with Justin Kemp, who scored 64, and led South Africa's revival.

Pacer Umar Gul, who took the wickets of Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs in the first over of the match, finished with 3 for 26. Iftikhar Anjum gave him good support, taking 2 for 26 in his 10 overs.

The winner of the match will progress to the semi-finals.

South Africa:

Graeme Smith's decision to bat first was quite strange, if you consider the early seam movement and dew factor later on. In the earlier matches played at Mohali, the team winning the toss had no hesitation in electing to field first. But South Africa had other ideas, or so it seemed.

South Africa were made to pay heavily right at the start, as they lost two wickets in the opening over by Umar Gul. First captain Smith was trapped plumb leg before wicket off the second ball of the innings.

Opener Herschelle Gibbs's poor run in the tournament continued when he edged a wide out-swinging delivery from Gul to Shoaib Malik at first slip.

Gibbs has now scored just 16 runs in the three innings he played, including two ducks.

The fast bowlers -- Gul and Iftikhar Anjum -- continued to prosper, as the pitch offered a lot of movement and bounce. South Africa's batsmen, who have been brought up playing on such fast pitches, continued to struggle as the ball beat the edge time and again.

While Gul picked wickets, Iftikhar Anjum kept up the pressure from the other end. He bowled with great discipline and didn't concede a single run in his first three overs. His persistence paid off when he got the wicket of Dippenaar, for 13, in his fifth over.

Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal completed a brilliant catch, diving full length to his right and holding the ball just in front of first slip. South Africa had slipped to 27 for 3 in the 10th over.

Anjum then dismissed Jacques Kallis caught behind for 17 in his next over.

The Pakistani pacers were having a feast out in the middle. Yasir Arafat didn't take time to strike as he got AB de Villiers caught behind in his second over for 10.

South Africa were reeling at 42 for 5 after 13 overs; it was their worst top order collapse against Pakistan. They earlier faced a similar scenario in 1994-95, when they were reduced to 44 for 5 at Kingsmead, Durban.

But Boucher and Kemp led South Africa's superb revival with a solid partnership for the sixth wicket

Boucher, particularly, played in his natural aggressive mode irrespective of the early fall of wickets. Once the striker bowlers were off, the part-time Pakistan bowlers failed to make an impression.

Boucher cruised to his half-century, his third against Pakistan, off 73 balls, inclusive of six boundaries, in the 36th over. South Africa were 150 for 5 after 39 overs, with both Boucher (60) and Kemp (36) looking comfortable.

Boucher was out after a vital innings of 68. He tried to pull Abdul Razzaq but the top edge went to Mohammad Hafeez at point.

The South African wicketkeeper hit seven boundaries in his 98-ball knock, and added 130 runs for the sixth wicket with Kemp to help his team recover after the loss of early wickets.

Kemp adjusted brilliantly to the situation and proved the perfect foil for Boucher. He reached his half-century in the 45th over off 94 balls in the 45th over.

The 29-year-old fell in the final over the innings as he tried to loft Gul over long-on. He was caught by Malik for 64 off 110 deliveries, including four boundaries and two sixes.

Andre Nel (12 off 10 balls) hit a few boundaries in the final over as South Africa finished on 213 for 8 in their 50 overs.

Gul emerged the most successful bowler, taking 3 for 36 in his eight overs. Surprisingly, he was not used for his full quota of 10 overs, considering the damage he did in his opening few overs. Anjum used the conditions superbly early on, taking 2 for 26 in his 10 overs.

South Africa must be really delighted that they now have a competitive total to defend after that horrific start. The pitch looks a bit green and they will now hope their pacers re-produce the showing in their previous match against Sri Lanka when they faced a similar scenario.

Batting first, they scored 219 for 9, and then the seamers took centrestage to bundle out the Sri Lankans for 141.

On the other hand, Pakistan will be hoping that their openers can play out the opening few overs, when batting will be most difficult.