South Africa beat Pakistan by 55 runs in the T20I series opener at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Chasing a decent 195-run target for victory, Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were bundled out for 139 in 18.1 overs.
Saim Ayub stood as the highest scorer for Pakistan with 37 runs. Mohammad Nawaz made 36, the second highest. Sahibzada Farhan contributed 24 off 19 balls and Usman Khan 12 off 12 balls. No other batter could enter the double figures.
Corbin Bosch took four wickets, George Linde three and Lizaad Williams two, while Lungi Ngidi took one wicket. George Linde was named player of the match for his valuable contribution with the bat and ball.
Bating first, Reeza Hendricks (60) and Quinton de Kock (23) provided a solid start to South Africa with a 44-run opening partnership. Debutant Tony de Zorzi (33) put on a 49-run stand with Hendricks to take the team score to 93 in just 7.4 overs.
Jorge Linde contributed a valuable 36 runs off 22 balls to help South Africa reach 194/9 in their allocated 20 overs. Mohammad Nawaz bagged three wickets and Saim Ayub two, while Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi took one wicket each. Lizaad Williams was run out while trying to take an impossible run on the last ball of the innings.
Babar Azam:
Star batter Babar Azam made a comeback in the side in the shortest format after nearly a one-year gap. Since his last T20I in December last year, Babar Azam has not played any competitive cricket in this format. He needed only nine runs to surpass India’s Rohit Sharma as the highest run getter in the T20Is. But he failed to open his account, and now he needed to wait for the second T20I to go at the world record.
For South Africa, seasoned wicketkeeper batter Quinton de Kock made a comeback after a one-year break. He had announced his retirement from international cricket one year ago.
South Africa Playing XI: Quinton de Kock(wk), RR Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi, D Brevis, MP Breetzke. D Ferreira (capt), George Linde, C Bosch, LB Williams, N Burger, Lungi Ngidi.
Pakistan Playing XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Agha Salman (capt), Usman Khan(wk). Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed.
