Second string South Africa give cricketing lesson to Pakistan

LAHORE: Second string South Africa outplayed Pakistan by six wickets in the second Twenty20 International to level the three-match series 1-1 at Gaddafi Stadium here on Saturday night. Pakistan won the opener by three runs in a thrilling contest on Thursday night. The third and final match is at the same venue on Sunday (today). Chasing a modest victory target of 144, skipper Heinrich Klaasen and his men raced home for the loss of four scalps, and proving a much better side than the hosts. Pite van Biljon and Reeza Hendricks, who both scored 42, laid the foundation for victory while David Miller (25 not out) and Klaasen (17 not out) finished the job in just 16.2 overs. Shaheen Shah Afridi struck twice for Pakistan early on to get rid of Janneman Malan and JJ Smuts in the first and third over, respectively. Shaheen struck with the second ball of the innings to clean up Malan, giving Pakistan the ideal start. However, the Proteas made a recovery, scoring a flurry of boundaries against pacer Haris Rauf.

Earlier, fast bowler Dwaine Pretorius claimed five wickets as Pakistan — sent in to bat — made 144for the loss of 7 wickets with wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan scoring 51. Pretorius produced South Africa’s best-ever T20I figures as the tourists blew Pakistan away. The 31-year-old all-rounder finished with 5-17 ––- bettering Ryan McLaren’s previous return of 5-19 –– to set up his side’s resounding victory. The home side struggled to build momentum, slipping to 48-3 as left-armer Tabraiz Shamsi applied the brakes with a tidy display of 1-16 before Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed built a steady partnership of 45. Rizwan once again anchored the Pakistan innings as his 51 made him the first Pakistan opener to score three successive scores of fifty or more in T20I cricket. Again, his innings made up a significant proportion of Pakistan’s total.

Faheem Ashraf made 30 not out of 12 balls to help Pakistan reach a respectable total after the middle order failed to contribute. Pakistan lost captain Babar Azam early on in the second over after he was adjudged lbw, managing only five runs. Youngster Haider Ali was the second to go back into the pavilion after a brilliant catch on the square leg boundary by Lutho Sipamla in the fifth over. Ali scored 10 runs from 11 balls. The third wicket to fall was Hussain Talat, who was out to Shamsi for three runs in the seventh over. Iftikhar was the fourth wicket, scoring 20 runs from 21 balls. He was sent back to the pavilion in the 14th over.

The Proteas, looking to end a five-match losing streak in T20s, made three changes to their squad. Glenton Stuurman was awarded his T20 debut for South Africa. The 28-year-old pacer replaced fast bowler Junior Dala. Jon-Jon Smuts and Pite van Biljon replaced Bjron Fortuin and Jacques Snyman.