Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bat first against South Africa in the second encounter of the three-match T20I series at the Centurion Park on Friday.
“We are going to bat first. Sun is shining. We have one change. We did well in the powerplay, but we did a few mistakes. We are enjoying our time in South Africa,” Pakistan’s skipper Mohammad Rziwan stated after winning the toss.
Proteas skipper Heinrich Klaasen stated he did not mind bowling first.
“Not at all. It’s a great venue to play,” he said.
Rizwan and Saim Ayub opened the innings for Pakistan and kept a steady flow of runs. The skipper’s innings, however, was short-lived as he fell against Ottneil Baartman after scoring just 11 runs from 13 balls.
Saim was joined by Babar Azam who struck back-to-back two fours. Soon the powerplay came to an end and the scoreboard was ticking at 45/1 for Pakistan.
After the powerplay, the duo continued batting steadily and took Pakistan to 90/1 at the end of the 10th over with Saim nearing to a 50 and Babar added 29 runs off 16 balls with three fours and one six.
Saim went on to cross the 50-run mark in style as he first hit a four — taking his individual inning to 48 — followed by a six to Nqabayomzi Peter.
The momentum set by the Babar-Saim partnership was broken in the next over as Babar fell against George Linde after scoring 31 off 20 deliveries, taking Pakistan’s score to 112/2.
After Babar’s dismissal, the Proteas bowlers found themselves back in the game as Dayyaan Galiem sent Usman Khan back to the pavilion in the next over (the 13th over).
Things further turned grave for Pakistan as Usman’s replacement, Tahir, also got out on the first ball of the 15th over — bowled by Galiem after scoring six singles off six balls.
Playing XI
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Haris Rauf and Abrar Ahmed.
South Africa: Reeze Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen (captain and wicketkeeper), Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Dayyaan Galiem, Ottneil Baartman, Nqaba Peter and Kwena Maphaka.
This is a developing story and is being updated with further details
