George Linde’s all-round heroics helped South Africa beat Pakistan by runs in the first T20I of the three-match series to go 1-0 up on Tuesday, December 10. (Live Streaming | More Cricket News)
Mohammed Rizwan (74 off 62) was sluggish for most of his innings, but found rhythm in the final stages of the chase, but was not enough to get Pakistan over the line
George Linde’s all-round heroics helped South Africa beat Pakistan by runs in the first T20I of the three-match series to go 1-0 up on Tuesday, December 10. (Live Streaming | More Cricket News)
Linde picked up his career-best figures of 4-21 in his four overs to seal the deal as Pakistan failed to get over the line at Kingsmead in Durban.
Mohammed Rizwan (74 off 62) was sluggish for most of his innings, but found rhythm in the final stages of the chase, but was not enough to get Pakistan over the line.
Kwena Maphaka, Ottneil Baartman, and Andile Simelane all picked up a wicket each.
Earlier on, South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first. The decision did not pay dividends as the hosts lost Rassie van der Dussen early in the first over as Shaheen Afridi struck early.
One wicket turned into three as Matthew Breetzke and Reeza Hendricks followed as South Africa were in a lot of trouble, losing three for just 28.
However, David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen stitched a crucial partnership, with Miller carrying ahead, scoring a brilliant 83. After a little slump, George Linde, batting with the tail, notched up a superb 48, to take South Africa to 183.
South Africa XI: Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Mathew Breetzke, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen (c & wk), Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Andile Simelane, Nqaba Peter, Kwena Maphaka, Ottneil Baartman
Pakistan XI: Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed