DURBAN: George Linde backed up his quickfire 48 with four wickets and guided South Africa to an 11-run victory over Pakistan in the first T20I of the three-match series here at Kingsmead Stadium on Tuesday.
Chasing a daunting target of 184 runs, the Green Shirts could rack up 172/8 in the allotted 20 overs despite captain Mohammad Rizwan’s half-century.
The touring team had a shaky start to the chase as their star batsman Babar Azam perished for a four-ball duck in the third over with the score reading 16/1.
After the initial hiccup, Saim Ayub put together a one-sided 40-run partnership for the second wicket with Rizwan before falling victim to Andile Simelane in the seventh over.
The left-handed batsman scored 31 off just 15 balls with the help of seven boundaries.
Rizwan, who batted cautiously until the 16th over, finally changed gears and hit Kwena Maphaka for two sixes in the next over.
The right-handed batsman finally came back in the second delivery of the final when he skied a short delivery from Maphaka towards the third man region, where Nqabayomzi Peter caught it easily.
He remained Pakistan’s top scorer with a 62-ball 74, which featured five fours and three sixes.
Maphaka then displayed nerves of steel and conceded just six runs off the remaining four deliveries and led his team to an 11-run victory in the series opener.
For South Africa, Linde took four wickets, followed by Kwena Maphaka with two, while Ottneil Baartman and Simelane took a scalp each.
Opting to bat first, South Africa posted a formidable total of 183/9, courtesy of David Miller’s swashbuckling half-century, followed by Linde’s late fireworks.
The home team, however, got off to a terrible start by losing two wickets – Rassie van der Dussen (0) and Matthew Breetzke (eight) – inside two overs with just 10 runs on the board.
Coming out to bat at number four, Miller briefly partnered opener Reeza Hendricks for an 18-run partnership, which culminated in the fourth over with the latter’s dismissal after scoring eight off nine.
After Hendricks’ departure, Miller changed direction and dominated the touring team’s pitchers with belligerent hitting.
The left-handed batsman hit eight sixes and four fours on his way to the top score for South Africa, with a quickfire 82 off just 40 deliveries.
David Miller was involved in two one-sided partnerships with captain Heinrich Klaasen (12) and Donovan Ferreira (seven) before falling victim to Pakistan star ball Shaheen, who returned match figures of 3/22 in his four overs.
Following his dismissal, South Africa lost two more wickets in quick succession and were subsequently reduced to 141/8 in 16 overs.
All-rounder George Linde, however, turned the tide in South Africa’s favor with late fireworks, the highlight of which was his three sixes off Sufiyan Muqeem in the final.
Linde continued to be a significant contributor for South Africa with a quickfire 48 off 24 deliveries, accompanied by three fours and four sixes, while Kwena Maphaka played a supporting role with an unbeaten 12.
Apart from Shaheen, Abrar Ahmed also took three wickets for Pakistan, but it was costly as he conceded 37 runs in his four overs, while Abbas Afridi took two wickets for 30 runs in as many overs. Muqeem, on the other hand, cut a scalp.
The 11-run victory gave South Africa a 1-0 lead in the three-match series against Pakistan, with the second T20I scheduled to be played on December 13 at Centurion.
