De Villiers says Proteas never lost hope despite 'imminent defeat' in first ODI against Pak

South African ODI captain AB de Villiers has said that his team never lost hope after they snatched the proverbial 'victory from the jaws of defeat' in the first of five one-day internationals in Sharjah on Wednesday.

Chasing a modest 184-run target, Pakistan was in sight of victory at 165-4 in the 41st over, but lost their last six wickets off just 39 balls in the space of 17 runs to gift a one-run victory to South Africa.

According to Sport24, De Villiers said that although a defeat was staring at his team in the face in the first ODI, they never lost hope as they always believed that they could turn things around in their favour.

De Villiers praised Pakistan-born South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir for his return of 3-45, saying that Tahir was fantastic, and he also gave credit to Lonwabo Tsotsobe for his two wickets.

The remaining matches will be played in Abu Dhabi (November 6 and 8) and Sharjah (November 11) and the teams will also play two Twenty20 internationals in Dubai on November 13 and 15, the report added.