“Just trying to back my game, and be the best for the team,” said Proteas spinner, and Player of the Match, George Linde, after taking the three important wickets of Mohammad Rizwan, Sharjeel Khan, and Mohammad Hafeez to restrict Pakistan to 140/9. 

The Proteas game plan to dismiss Rizwan was to induce a false shot by keeping Mid-Off in the ring. “We tried to play with his arrogance a little bit,” said Linde.

The plan worked spectacularly, as Rizwan came down the track and was promptly caught at Mid-Off by Aiden Markram. 

Compared to the first T20, where the bowling in the last five overs cost South Africa the game, the Proteas bowling unit performed well collectively in this game. “Today, the bowlers showed up.

Unbelievable. I don’t think you can ask for any more from the bowlers,” Linde said. Sisanda Magala, who went for 18 runs in his first over, conceded only 14 runs and took one wicket in his remaining three overs. “Just showed his character. We weren’t worried after that first over because we knew what was going to come next,” stated Linde. 

The Proteas batsmen chased down 141 in 14 overs. The aggression displayed by the batsmen is part of a game plan that the Proteas hope to execute at the T20 World Cup later in the year. “If we can play that type of cricket leading into the World Cup, then we know how to go about things,” explained Linde.