South Africa beat Pakistan in a thriller

Grassroots Cricket|

South Africa won the 1st T20I against Pakistan in Durban, emerging victorious by 11 runs in a thriller. The match featured a new-look South African side, with none of the players from their recent Test series win against Sri Lanka participating. Pakistan, on the other hand, opted for an extended bowling attack but fell short in their chase.

Winning the toss, South Africa elected to bat first. Their innings started on a shaky note as Shaheen Afridi struck in the very first over, dismissing Rassie van der Dussen for a duck. Abrar Ahmed continued the early damage, removing Matthew Breetzke in the second over and Reeza Hendricks in the fourth.

Captain Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller steadied the innings with a partnership that provided much-needed stability. While Klaasen departed after a decent start, Miller took charge, smashing a brilliant 82 off just 40 balls. His aggressive strokeplay was well-supported by George Linde, who contributed an explosive 48 off 24 deliveries. Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed stood out for Pakistan, claiming three wickets each. South Africa recovered from the early loss and gave Pakistan 184 to chase.

Pakistan’s innings got off to a disastrous start as Babar Azam fell for a duck to Kwena Maphaka in the third over. Saim Ayub injected some momentum with a quickfire 31 off 15 balls but was dismissed just as he started to look dangerous. Mohammad Rizwan anchored the innings with an unbeaten 74 off 62 deliveries. Pakistan eventually fell short by 11 runs.

 

Scored in brief:

South Africa: 183/ 9 (David Miller 82; George Linde 4/21)

Pakistan: 172/8 (Muhammad Rizwan 74; Shaheen Shah Afridi 3/22)

 

South Africa won by 11 runs

 

Player of the match: George Linde