Picture Credit: BCCI
After whitewashing South Africa in the Test series, Pakistan continued their winning form in the shortest format of the game. While the two match Test series was one-sided, the first T20I produced a thrilling clash with the hosts clinching the match on the last ball of the game by just three runs.
After winning the toss, Proteas captain Heinrich Klaasen elected to bowl. Put to bat first, the opening wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan took the bowlers to the cleaners as he hammered the ball like anything to play a scintillating knock of 104 runs off 64 deliveries including 6 boundaries and 7 sixes.
Though Pakistan had lost their skipper Babar Azam on the second ball of the innings, Rizwan stood tall at one end and took his team to a modest total of 169 runs in 20 overs. For South Africa, right-arm pacer Andile Phehlukwayo picked two wickets while Lutho Sipamla, Tabraiz Shamsi, and Bjorn Fortuin had one each to their name.
Chasing 169, the visitors had started aggressively as the opening duo Janneman Malan and Reeza Hendricks launched the assault and added 53 runs within 7 overs. However, Malan lost his wicket off Usman Qadir, while playing at 44.
Meanwhile, Hendricks held the other end and managed to keep chase alive. Though the opener lost his wicket in the 18th over, Dwaine Pretorius and Bjorn Fortuin took the game to the last ball but failed to take their team home.
Here’s How Twitter Reacted