Pakistan beat South Africa by 4 wickets in an exciting first fixture of the four-match T20I series at Johannesburg — and now lead 1-0.
Mohammad Rizwan led Pakistan to the victory with his unbeaten 74, comprising of two sixes and and two sixes.
South Africa’s sloppy fielding let Pakistan stay aflot in the last over and helped Hassan Ali and hit the the winning runs.
South Africa dominated the middle overs but slowed down in the end to finish with 188-6 — a total that is smaller than they were on course to amass when Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen were in full flow.
Most of Pakistan bowlers struggled and went for runs, except Nawaz and Hasan, both of whom picked up two wickets each and were economical.
With top players already leaving the side for Indian Premier League (IPL), South Africa is also hit by injuries.
A day before the first T20I in Johannesburg, South Africa’s white-ball captain Temba Bavuma was ruled out of the series after suffering a Grade One hamstring strain. In his absence, Heinrich Klaasen will lead the Proteas.
Dwaine Pretorius and Rassie van der Dussen will also miss the series due to fitness issues while Reeza Hendricks withdrew from the series for family reasons.
Squads:
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Arshad Iqbal, Asif Ali, Danish Aziz, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Usman Qadir.
South Africa: Heinrich Klaasen (captain, wicketkeeper), Aiden Markram, Andile Phehlukwayo, Beuran Hendricks, Bjorn Fortuin, George Linde, Rassie van der Dussen, Janneman Malan, Sisanda Magala, Wiaan Mulder, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lutho Sipamla, Kyle Verreynne, Pite van Biljon, Daryn Dupavillon, Migael Pretorius, Lizaad Williams and Wihan Lubbe
