Pakistan pulled off a four-wicket victory over South Africa in Johannesburg in the first T20I on Saturday (April 10) to go 1-0 up in the four-match series.
The visitors continued their winning run for the tour after clinching the ODI series comprehensively by 2-1.
The triumph saw Pakistan flex their muscles with a weakened but talented Proteas unit and take fine strides forward in their preparation for the T20 World Cup in India later this year.
As it happened, the hosts won the toss and opted to bat first, which came as a surprise to many, considering their bowling attack was missing the services of first-choice quicks Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, who are in India for the IPL 2021. In the batting department, the Proteas had to fill the massive void of Quinton De Kock and David Miller as well.
To make matters tougher, South Africa also lost their limited-overs captain Temba Bavuma to an injury, with wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen stepping up as a leader.
And Klaasen led his team from the front, scoring a quickfire half-century. His knock of 50 off 28 deliveries, including two fours and four sixes, in the middle-order put the Pakistani attack under pressure.
Earlier in the innings, opening batsman Aiden Markram produced a classy fifty. Markram batted very well for his 51 runs from 32 balls, including eight fours and a six.
Markram’s fellow opener Janneman Malan (24) and Pite van Biljon (34) also made handy contributions towards their team’s cause in the first half as South Africa reached a huge total of 188/6 in their allotted 20 overs.
Among Pakistani bowlers, left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz (2/21) and right-arm quick Hasan Ali (2/28) were the two stand-out performers. The duo kept a tight leash on run-scoring through their four-over spells and picked up two wickets apiece.
However, despite Nawaz and Hasan’s good work, South Africa still posted a strong total on the board due to the lack of control and consistency from the rest of the Pakistan attack. Shaheen Afridi (1/45), Usman Qadir (0/38), Haris Rauf (1/37) and Faheem Ashraf (0/18) all proved expensive on the day.
In the all-important run-chase, Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan played outstandingly for his unbeaten knock of 74 from 50 deliveries. Rizwan’s magnificent effort saw him blaze his willow for nine fours and two sixes, as he controlled the run-chase for his team.
Pakistan did lose their way a touch near the end of the powerplay through to the start of the death overs, with Babar Azam (14), Fakhar Zaman (27), Mohammad Hafeez (14) and Haider Ali (14) dismissed without making a substantial score.
The visitors, though, still kept up with the asking rate and reached home eventually as Faheem and Hasan produced two extremely crucial cameos towards the end of the innings. While Faheem made 30 off just 14 balls, Hasan contributed nine runs unbeaten off only three balls. Those two lower-order efforts, combined with Rizwan’s magnificence, saw Pakistan through with a ball to spare and still four wickets left in the shed.
Fast-bowler Beuran Hendricks and left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi were the two best South African bowlers on show. Hendricks ended with figures of 3/32 after his four-over spell. Shamsi played his part by giving away only 29 runs and taking two wickets.
Others, including George Linde (0/31), Lizaad Williams (1/39) and Sisanda Magala (0/35) and Andile Phehlukwayo (0/21), weren’t as effective against Pakistan batsmen.
The hosts did feel the absence of their first-choice personnel but also got a good look of their players on the fringes through the first T20I.
Both the teams will stay in Johannesburg for the second game of the series to be played on Monday (April 12).
Brief Scores:
South Africa 188 for 8 in 20 overs (Aiden Markram 51, Heinrich Klaasen 50; Mohammad Nawaz 2-21, Hasan Ali 2-28) lost to Pakistan (Mohammad Rizwan 74*, Faheem Ashraf 30; Beuran Hendricks 3-32, Shamsi 2-29) by 4 wickets.
