Pak vs SA: South Africa beat Pakistan by 11 runs in first T20I to lead series 1-0

David Miller scores 82, George Linde hit 48 and took 4/21 as Pakistan fell short in chasing 184 in the opening T20I

Courtesy: PCB

David Miller's explosive batting and George Linde's all-round performance led South Africa to an 11-run victory over Pakistan in the first T20I on Tuesday in Durban. South Africa had won the toss and elected to bat in the opening match at Kingsmead Stadium.

Chasing a challenging target of 184, Pakistan suffered an early blow as former captain Babar Azam was dismissed without scoring.

Young Saim Ayub played a brief yet impactful knock of 31 off 15 balls, helping Pakistan reach 50 runs in the 6th over. However, his innings was cut short by Simelane, with Breetzke taking the catch.

Courtesy: PCB

Pakistan quickly lost their third wicket as Usman Khan, continuing his poor run of form, was dismissed for just 9 runs.

Rizwan's innings then slowed the run rate during the middle overs. The skipper reached his half-century off 50 balls and formed a 34-run partnership with Tayyab Tahir, who contributed 18 runs off as many balls.

At one stage, Pakistan needed 73 runs from 5 overs with 4 wickets down. Rizwan, however, took charge, supported by Shaheen, who was promoted in the batting order. The pair added 24 runs in the 17th over, keeping Pakistan in the hunt.

Just as Pakistan appeared to be staging a comeback, Linde, who had earlier scored 48 off 24 balls, dashed their hopes by taking three wickets in an over.

Rizwan made a valiant effort, scoring 74 off 62 balls, but it was in vain, as Pakistan were restricted to 172 for 7, with South Africa winning the match by 11 runs.

First innings

Pakistan made early breakthroughs as Shaheen Afridi struck in his first over, rattling Rassie van der Dussen's stumps off the very first ball he faced.

Matthew Breetzke hit Abrar Ahmed out of the park, but the off-spinner had the last laugh on the very next ball, as a false stroke left Breetzke caught at point.

Pakistan struck again, thanks to Abrar’s magic. With his sheer skill and class, he bamboozled Reeza Hendricks, who made 8 before being bowled out by a perfect googly, leaving the Proteas reeling at 28 for 3.

Courtesy: PCB

With the top three batsmen back in the dugout within the powerplay, captain Heinrich Klaasen joined veteran David Miller.

Miller showed his brutal intent, hitting consecutive boundaries off Shaheen and then launching two sixes off Sufiyan Muqeem, who had taken 5/3 against Zimbabwe.

Despite the fielders being set on the boundary lines, Miller thrashed the Pakistani bowlers in the middle overs. However, Abbas Afridi struck twice to end the innings of Klaasen and Donovan Ferreira.

Miller's knock of 82, which included four fours and eight sixes, was finally brought to an end when he was caught in the deep while attempting to hit his ninth six off Shaheen.

Once Miller departed, George Linde took the charge and help South Africa reach 183 for 9 in 20 Overs with his 24 ball 48 including 4 sixes.

Shaheen and Abrar both impressed with the ball, taking three wickets each, while Abbas Afridi finished with figures of 2/30.

Playing XI

Pakistan: 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.

South Africa: 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

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