It’s been a tantalizing start to the T20I series between the Proteas and Pakistan, with comeback king George Linde and the experienced David Miller in high gear.
This game also saw the return for Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was economical and accurate throughout the SA innings.
It was a horror start to the Powerplay for the hosts, as Rassie van der Dussen chopped onto his stumps in the first over. Matthew Breetzke hit the first six, but offered an easy catch to backward point on the very next ball. And Reeza Hendricks failed to read a googly and got bowled, giving leggie Abrar Ahmed his second wicket.
The arrival of skipper Heinrich Klaasen helped steady the ship briefly, as Miller took on the Pakistani bowlers. However, the push for quick runs was curtains for Klaasen, who holed out to deep midwicket.
But there was no deterrent for Miller. The left-hander reached 50 from just 27 deliveries, and smoked Abrar for three consecutive maximums. Donovan Ferreira came and went, but George Linde was a handy second fiddle.
A century might’ve been in sight, but a poorly timed pull off a slower short ball spelled the end for Miller’s blitz. This would bring about a couple more quick wickets to derail SA.
Fortunately, Linde managed to bat through the rest of the innings, and Kwena Maphaka showed that he’s no pushover at #10.
The highlight was 3 sixes from Linde in the final over from Sufyan Muqeem, driving SA past 180. The allrounder was on the doorstep of a brilliant half-century, but skied a catch to deep midwicket on the very last delivery.
Pakistan’s chase was rocked early when Babar Azam departed without scoring, in the second over. But Saim Ayub would come out swinging and transfer the pressure back to the inexperienced Proteas bowling lineup.
The young lefty impressed with powerful and classy strokes around the ground, but his promising knock came to a rather premature end when he holed out to deep cover off Andile Simelane.
Rizwan struggled to step on the gas, and the rise in the asking rate brought about the downfall for Usman Khan and Tayyab Tahir.
Pakistan tried to experiment with Shaheen at No 6, but that was when Rizwan finally found his groove. And a largely forgettable day on the field would all but bring the visitors back in contention.
But it was Linde who bookended his dream return to international cricket with three wickets in the 18th overs. This would nearly seal the deal, but Rizwan was still present. Three boundaries off Baartman brought the equation down to 19 for the last over.
Kwena Maphaka successfully recovered from a wayward third over and held his nerve. The Pakistani captain completely mistimed a big shot, and Nqaba Peter held on to the steepler to snuff out any outside chance for Pakistan.
SA now have the early momentum after winning what was a chaotic series opener. Game 2 is on Friday, at SuperSport Park.
SA 183/9 in 20 overs (Miller 82, Linde 48 – Shaheen 4-0-22-3, Abrar 4-0-37-3)
PAK 172/8 in 20 overs (Rizwan 74 – Linde 4-0-21-4)
