JOHANNESBURG: The Pakistan cricket team has arrived in Johannesburg from Durban for the second T20I match against South Africa scheduled for tomorrow.
After an 11-run loss in the opening match, the Men in Green are preparing to bounce back and level the series.
The first T20I, held at Kingsmead, saw South Africa emerge victorious with a dominant performance.
The hosts posted a challenging total of 183/9, driven by explosive strikes from George Linde and David Miller.
Linde contributed a strong all-round performance, scoring 48 off 24 balls and taking 4/21, while Miller’s fiery 82 off 40 balls anchored the innings.
Pakistan’s bowling attack led by Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed showed promise with both bowlers taking three wickets each.
However, despite a solid reaction, Pakistan fell short in the pursuit.
Mohammad Rizwan scored 74 off 62 balls but his innings was marred by a slow start as he struggled to accelerate in the first overs.
Opening the batting for Pakistan chasing 184, Rizwan found himself with 46 off 49 balls in the 16th over, with the team needing 60 runs from the last four overs.
He then picked up the pace, hitting two sixes off Kwena Maphaka in the 17th over to complete his half-century off 50 balls.
However, his late breakthrough was insufficient to take Pakistan over the line as he was dismissed for 74 off the second ball of the final for leaving the tailenders with too much to do.
His 74 off 62 balls had a strike rate of 119.35, marking his third lowest strike rate in over fifty innings.
The 32-year-old’s knock was also the second slowest innings of over 70 innings by a T20I captain, just behind New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, who scored 70 off 60 balls against Pakistan in 2016.
His innings ranks fourth in the list of slowest T20I batting by an all-round batsman facing 60 or more balls in a chase, closely following compatriot Sarfaraz Ahmed, who scored an unbeaten 76 off 64 deliveries against New Zealand in 2014, albeit in a winning cause.
