Pakistan have fought back with back-to-back wins against the Proteas to seal the T20I series 2-1.
It was another scoop masterclass from Shaheen Shah Afridi, who dismissed left-handers Quinton de Kock and Lhuan-dre Pretorius without scoring. De Kock’s long-awaited return left many to be desired as he only managed 30 runs in this series.
This would set the tone for how much of the rest of the innings would go for the visitors. Dewald Brevis overcame a nervous start to hit a couple of sixes, but debutant spinner Usman Tariq had the last laugh when he went on too long.
Spin continued to keep SA at bay as Matthew Breetzke was bowled by Mohammed Nawaz. However, the arrival of skipper Donovan Ferreira provided a fleeting momentum shift. The strong right-hander scored 29 off 14 after the mid-innings drinks break, but one aggressive shot too many also led to his downfall.
Reeza Hendricks tried his best to punch through, but couldn’t find a rhythm in his knocking. A handy unbeaten 30 from Corbin Bosch managed to propel SA to a score of some substance at half-time.
It was a great performance from all the Pakistani bowlers, who ensured that the South Africans would not recover from the early blows.
Pakistan’s chase got off to a cautious start as Saim Ayub delivered an easy catch at mid-off in the second over.
Babar Azam hit some beautiful boundaries but Sahibzada Farhan found it difficult to rotate the strike. Farhan’s innings came to an end when he pulled a half-tracker from Donovan Ferreira to deep midwicket.
From that moment on, things gradually went smoothly for the men in green. Salman Ali Agha and Babar added 76 runs between them, and even a late mini-collapse would only delay the inevitable.
Despite a solid first game, this series has provided a timely reality check for the inexperienced Proteas outfit. A number of fringe players were given the opportunity to throw their hat in the ring for a possible World Cup spot, but did not take full advantage of their opportunities.
The ODIs start on Tuesday, November 4.
SA 139/9 in 20 overs (Hendricks 34, Bosch 30*, Ferreira 29 – Shaheen Shah Afridi 4-0-26-3)
PAK 140/6 in 19 overs (Babar 68, Salman 33 – Bosch 4-0-24-2)
Written by: Abhai Sawkar
#Babar #bowlers #lead #Pakistan #series #win #Cricket #Fanatics #Magazine