Proteas Cruise To Comfortable Victory In Rawalpindi
South Africa and Pakistan began their three-match T20 series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium with Pakistan winning the toss and opting to bowl first. The game signaled the much-anticipated return of Babar Azam to the T20 lineup for the first time since December 2024.
The Proteas were bolstered by the return of Quinton De Kock – his first appearance since the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Final – with Lhuan-dre Pretorius missing out due to illness. Tony De Zorzi was the sole debutant in this format.
In his first appearance as stand-in captain, Donvan Ferreira acknowledged that he would have bowled first too.
The Proteas got off to a blistering start with De Kock scoring rapidly, well supported by Reeza Hendricks at the other end. When De Kock was dismissed for 23 off 13, debutant De Zorzi continued the momentum, scoring an impressive 33 off 16, helping the team amass an impressive 74 runs during the powerplay. Following De Zorzi’s dismissal – chasing a wide ball by Mohammad Nawaz before being stumped by Usman Khan – the middle order was exposed.
The trio of Dewald Brevis, Matthew Breetzke, and Donovan Ferreira could only muster 20 runs as they struggled to adapt to the spin pairing of Saim Ayub and Mohammad Nawaz.
In the 8 overs between the duo, only 57 runs were scored, in which they picked up 5 wickets.
All the while, Reeza Hendricks went about anchoring the innings with a vital knock of 60.
Just as Pakistan thought they had turned the tide in their favor, up stepped George Linde, who added a splendid and invaluable 36 runs off 22 balls.
This helped catapult South Africa to 194/9.
In response, Pakistan got off to a similar flash start as Sahibzada Farhan hit some lusty blows before falling victim to Lizaad Williams. The returning hero Babar Azam only lasted two balls as he was Corbin Bosch’s first victim, followed by Salman Agha for 2, Bosch’s second wicket, leaving the hosts wobbling.
Saim Ayub and Usman Khan attempted to rebuild, but once Ayub went for 37 off 28 with the score on 82, the chase unraveled quickly.
The wickets of Hasan Nawaz, Usman Khan, and Faheem Ashraf for just 7 runs left Pakistan reeling to merely stay in the game.
Mohammad Nawaz offered some resistance on the backend of the innings with a belligerent 36 off 20.
It seemed fitting that Corbin Bosch was involved in the final dismissal, taking the catch to dismiss Nawaz off the bowling of Lizaad Williams, as he produced figures of 4-14 off his allotted 4 overs.
Lizaad Williams also chipped in with 2-21.
George Linde followed up his wonderful batting display with an equally terrific bowling display, taking 3-31, rightly earning him the player of the match award.
The result was an emphatic 55-run opening game victory for South Africa, which they are sure to take much confidence and momentum from.
The next fixture takes place on Friday, 31 October at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Article by Riaz Hamed
