LAHORE, OCT 31: Pakistan put up a fast-bowling masterclass as South Africa were bundled out for a paltry 110 after they were put into bat in the second Twenty20 International at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday.
Faheem Ashraf took 4-23 while Salman Mirza — replacing Shaheen Shah Afridi in the Pakistan XI — returned figures of 3-14 and Naseem Shah chipped in with 2-28.
South Africa’s best batting display came from Dewald Brevis, but the right-hander’s burst was too short to lead the visitors to a competitive total.
They reeled at 31-4 by the end of the powerplay as Salman rattled their top-order with immaculate line and length and subtle movement.
The left-armer struck as early as on the second ball of the match, bamboozling South African opener Reeza Hendricks — who hit a match-winning half century in the first match — with an in-swinger that crashed into the stumps.
Naseem pushed the Proteas deeper into trouble, deceiving Quinton de Kock with a slower one, which the right-hander holed to Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha at mid-off.
Salman then returned to get Tony de Zorzi caught at deep fine before castling Matthew Breetzke with a stunning off-cutter.
The incoming Brevis, one of the most promising prospects in global T20 cricket, went after the Pakistan bowlers to bring back South Africa in the game, dispatching spinners Mohammad Nawaz and Abrar Ahmed and medium-pacer Faheem for handsome sixes, but was undone by a shorter ball by Faheem to depart with 25 off 16 against his name.
Faheem then returned to make South African captain Donovan Ferreira drag the ball on to his stumps just at the halfway stage, to leave the visitors at 66-6.
The right-armer returned to send back George Linde in the same manner two overs later.
South Africa’s struggles only kept on increasing, with Naseem producing a caught-behind dismissal of Corbin Bosch in the 14th over.
Abrar Ahmed got himself in the wickets column, thanks to a carrom ball that clipped Nandre Burger’s off-stump before Faheem came back to be gifted a fourth and South Africa’s last wicket on the second ball of the 20th over.
Pakistan are looking to stage a comeback after getting a 55-run thrashing in the opening game of the three-match series to level it and keep it alive.
The hosts have made on change, bringing in Salman in place of spearhead Shaheen. Meanwhile, for South Africa, pacer Ottneil Baartman has come in for Lizaad Williams.
Pakistan’s batting line-up — featuring Babar Azam, Salman Ali Agha, Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Hasan Nawaz and Usman Khan — failed to live up to expectations, with no player able to play a substantial innings in recent outing.
The bowling department too did not impress at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, with Shaheen (1-45), Naseem (1-34) and Abrar 1-42) all proving expensive. All-rounders Nawaz (3-26 and 36 runs) and Saim (2-31 and 37 runs) were the only bright spots in an otherwise dismal performance.
Pakistan will be banking on former captain Babar to rediscover his form after being dismissed for a duck in his first T20I appearance in nearly 10 months. Babar, with 4,223 runs in 129 matches at an average of 39.46 and a strike-rate of 129.14, remains Pakistan’s most seasoned batter in the format.
Among others, only Hasan (strike-rate 156.94) and Saim (134) have maintained better scoring rates, while Salman’s average of 22.52 and lack of a fifty in his last 13 innings continue to raise concerns.
Teams:
South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Matthew Breetzke, Donovan Ferreira (captain), George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Nandre Burger, Ottneil Baartman, Lungi Ngidi
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Usman Khan(wicket-keeper), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed
