South Africa Claim Victory Over Pakistan by 11 Runs in First T20I

David Miller’s explosive batting and George Linde’s all-round performance led South Africa to an 11-run victory over Pakistan in the first T20I on Tuesday in Durban. South Africa had won the toss and elected to bat in the opening match at Kingsmead Stadium.

Pakistan faced an early blow as South Africa dismissed former captain Babar Azam without scoring while chasing a challenging target of 184.

Young Saim Ayub played a brief yet impactful knock of 31 off 15 balls, helping Pakistan reach 50 runs in the 6th over. However, Simelane cut short his innings when Breetzke took the catch.

Pakistan quickly lost their third wicket as Usman Khan, continuing his poor run of form, fell for just 9 runs.

Rizwan’s innings then slowed the run rate during the middle overs. The skipper reached his half-century off 50 balls and formed a 34-run partnership with Tayyab Tahir, who contributed 18 runs off as many balls.

At one stage, Pakistan needed 73 runs from 5 overs with 4 wickets down. Rizwan, however, took charge, supported by Shaheen, who was promoted in the batting order. The pair added 24 runs in the 17th over, keeping Pakistan in the hunt.

Just as Pakistan appeared to be staging a comeback, Linde, who had earlier scored 48 off 24 balls, dashed their hopes by taking three wickets in an over.

Rizwan made a valiant effort, scoring 74 off 62 balls. However, it was in vain. South Africa restricted Pakistan to 172 for 7, claiming victory by 11 runs.

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First innings

Pakistan made early breakthroughs as Shaheen Afridi struck in his first over, rattling Rassie van der Dussen’s stumps off the very first ball he faced.

Matthew Breetzke hit Abrar Ahmed out of the park, but the off-spinner had the last laugh on the very next ball, as a false stroke left Breetzke caught at point.

Pakistan struck again, thanks to Abrar’s magic. With his sheer skill and class, he bamboozled Reeza Hendricks, who made 8 before a perfect googly bowled him out, leaving the Proteas reeling at 28 for 3.

With the top three batsmen back in the dugout within the powerplay, captain Heinrich Klaasen joined veteran David Miller.

Miller showed his brutal intent, hitting consecutive boundaries off Shaheen and then launching two sixes off Sufiyan Muqeem, who had taken 5/3 against Zimbabwe.

Despite the Pakistani bowlers setting the fielders on the boundary lines, Miller still thrashed them in the middle overs. However, Abbas Afridi struck twice to end the innings of Klaasen and Donovan Ferreira.

Miller’s knock of 82 included four fours and eight sixes. His innings ended when a fielder caught him in the deep. He had been attempting to hit his ninth six off Shaheen.

Once Miller departed, George Linde took charge. He helped South Africa reach 183 for 9 in 20 overs. Linde scored 48 off 24 balls, including 4 sixes.

Shaheen and Abrar both impressed with the ball, taking three wickets each, while Abbas Afridi finished with figures of 2/30.

Playing XI

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (C & Wk), Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed.

South Africa: Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Mathew Breetzke, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen (c & wk), Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Andile Simelane, Nqaba Peter, Kwena Maphaka, Ottneil Baartman

This news is sourced from [The Express Tribune] and is for informational purposes only.