Pakistan defeat South Africa to clinch T20I series
Babar Azam's brilliant half-century played a vital role in Pakistan’s victory and earned him player of the match
Pakistan defeat South Africa to clinch T20I series
Babar Azam’s brilliant half-century played a vital role in Pakistan’s victory and earned him player of the match
ISLAMABAD : Report By ; Nawaz Gohar ; Pakistan beat South Africa by 4 wickets in the third T20 to win the series. Pakistani bowlers dominated the South African top order, sending key batters back early. Shaheen Afridi struck twice in the very first over for zero runs, removing both openers in consecutive deliveries, but narrowly missed a hat-trick.
Pakistan were given a target of 140 runs, which they chased down in 19 overs at the loss of 6 wickets. Pakistan won the toss and chose to field first — a decision that once again proved correct. South Africa once again failed to post a big total, scoring just 139 runs for 9 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Losing two valuable wickets in the opening over put them under pressure from the start.
Reeza Hendricks top-scored with 34 runs, captain Donovan Ferreira scored 29, Corbin Bosch remained unbeaten on 30, while Dewald Brevis added 29 before being dismissed. Shaheen Afridi and Usman Tariq played key roles in dismantling the South African batting lineup. Afridi took 3 wickets, Tariq 2, Faheem Ashraf 2, while Mohammad Nawaz and Salman Mirza picked up one wicket each.
Pakistan’s innings also began shakily, as Saim Ayub — hero of the second T20 — was dismissed for a duck in the second over by Corbin Bosch. However, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, and Salman Ali Agha stabilized the innings with impressive batting to secure victory.
Babar Azam returned to form with a long-awaited half-century, remaining unbeaten on 68 runs off 9 boundaries. (In the previous match, he also became the highest run-scorer in T20 internationals.) Captain Salman Ali Agha scored 33, while Sahibzada Farhan added 19 runs.
For South Africa, George Linde and Lizaro claimed two wickets each, while captain Donovan Ferreira and Sam Linn picked up one wicket each. Babar Azam was awarded Player of the Match. Pakistan won the T20 series 2-1.
The match was officiated by umpires Faisal Afridi and Rashid Riaz. Official scorers were Muhammad Arif and Sajid Usman, while media gallery scorers were Zahoor Alam and Waris Bashir. Ranjan Madugalle served as match referee for the entire series.
Pakistan’s playing XI in this match included Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Usman Khan, Hassan Nawaz, Muhammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Salman Mirza and Abrar Ahmed.
The South Africa playing XI in this match consisted of Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brewis, Matthew Bretzke, Donovan Ferreira (captain), George Linde, Karbin Bosch, Otneil Baartman, Nandre Burger and Langi Nengidi.
