But they have the depth to take it down the wire provided the remaining batsmen stick to the task and build partnerships. Younis and Afridi were on the crease, and a whole lot depended on them.

After a brilliant start, Pakistan lost their way somewhat in the middle overs. With Saeed Anwar and Imran Nazir gone before the field restrictions were relaxed after the 15th over, Youhana and Inzamam predictably tried to consolidate with singles and twos, only occasionally picking up a boundary, such as Youhana stroking Donald to mid-wicket for a four or Inzamam clouting Donald beyond long-on fence.

But the running between the wickets during this period was woefully casual and indifferent and many twos were reduced to mere singles - something that Pakistan may rue in case of a close encounter.

Before the two of them could raise the hundred of the innings, Youhana trying to clear the mid-wicket fielder fell to Allan Donald as Gibbs brought off a good catch. That setback was compounded when Inzamam tried to find the boundary at long-off only to find a running Donald bringing off a pretty decent catch. Pakistan was in dire straits, but of late such has been their record that they cannot be written off till the last ball has been bowled.

Nevertheless, considering that the Pakistanis don't particularly relish chasing, 283 still was a pretty good total even on this placid track.

Once Gary Kirsten departed early, the Proteas mostly sticking to the basics, with the emphasis on partnerships as Gibbs played an uncharacteristically subdued role till he was in sight of his hundred. First Gibbs and Kallis steadied the innings, but when Kallis was caught at the wicket as Waqar struck a second time after posting the 50 of the innings, in walked Nicky Boje. And he straightaway took the attack to Pakistan by tearing into the first change seamer, Abdul Razzaq, hitting him for three fours and a six in the space of two overs.

That prompted the double change, as duo of spinners Saqlain Mushtaq and Shahid Afridi were brought on from both ends. They made little impression, but skipper Younis had no fall back as he has gone into the match with just five bowlers, including the all-rounders. Boje struck Afridi over long-on into the stands, and then repeated the stroke for a four. He tried to go after Afridi, and was dropped by Waqar in the covers. Not a costly lapse that, because Nazir made no mistake running backwards at point when he miscued Afridi again in the same over.

That brought on Jonty Rhodes, and thus ensued the most enterprising partnership of the innings and when it was terminated 120 runs later, the score was a mammoth 256 with six overs and a bit still to go.

Gibbs superb 118, his seventh century in ODIs, came of only 131 balls with the help of 3 sixes and 9 fours. He holed out to Inzamam at deep square leg, trying to pull Razzaq's waist high full toss. Rhodes (43, off 49 balls, 3 fours) followed two balls later, run out by Akram. That triggered the collapse, as Waqar castled Mark Boucher and his counterpart Shaun Pollock in one over. Waqar got Klusener too on the penultimate delivery of the innings to get five for 38 in an otherwise lacklustre bowling performance in which Saqlain went for 80 runs without getting a wicket. Wasim Akram, in his 335th ODI, the highest by any player in the world, failed to add to his world record 463 scalps.

With Boje making his intent known early on, by clubbing Razzaq for a six and two fours on the last three deliveries of the 15th over, Waqar Younis made a double bowling change, bringing the spinners on from both ends. But with Boje now firing on all cylinders and Gibbs content on playing second fiddle, Saqlain Mushtaq and Shahid Afridi made little impression. With the Pakistan fielding coming under pressure, there were misfields and overthrows, which added to their woes.

And with Pakistan going in with three seamers and two spinners, there was no fallback for skipper Younis. As a consequence, Boje and Gibbs went merrily along, taking the South African score to past 100 as the former clobbered Afridi into the back row in the stands at long-on for a six and then repeated the shot, this time one bounce into the hoardings.

The score rattled along at brisk pace, to 136 before Boje miscued for the second time to Afridi in the same over. But while Younis had provided im the reprieve by flooring the chance in cover, young Imran Nazir made no such mistake running backward at point, and the left-hander had to trudge back to the pavilion.

But Boje (52, off 45 deliveries, 2 sixes, five fours) by then had done the damage. Gibbs in the meanwhile had gathered his runs uncharacteristically more in the mould of an accumulator. The innings 150 was posted in the 29th over, and in the next over Gibbs drove for a single to long on to get his individual 50, off 80 deliveries, off 4 fours.

By the end of the 30th over, another little stand of 21 had materialised between Gibbs and Jonty Rhodes. An ominous sign for Pakistan, indeed.

Quite a recovery by the South Africans after an early shock. With the wily pair of Wasim and Waqar giving nothing away after four wides in the first over, Kirsten essayed the first aggressive shot of the innings, but perished attempting to pull a shortish one from Younis to the midwicket fence. The spliced up skier was comfortably pouched by Rashid Latif.

From 11 for 1 in the fourth over, Herschelle Gibbs and Kallis affected a decent recovery, with Gibbs playing some glorious shots, first driving Wasim Akram crisply to the extra cover fence. Next over his drive off Younis beat a diving Imran Nazir and the ball raced to the point boundary. Kallis pulled Akram to midwicket for four, and repeated the dose to Younis in the covers to raise the 50 of the innings, 51 to be exact off 68 deliveries. But then he edged Younis straight into the gloves of Latif to make it two scalps apiece for the bowler and the keeper.

Boje, despite the odd ugly heave, however kept the momentum going by finding the aerial route in vacant spaces to take three fours and a six in his 14-ball 19 to set Pakistan thinking.

TEAMS: South Africa: Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Boeta Dippenar, Jonty Rhodes, Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis, Lance Klusener, Nickey Boje, Makhaya Ntini, Allan Donald. Pakistan: Saeed Anwar, Imran Nazir, Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Rashid Latif, Shahid Afridi, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq.