DURBAN: George Linde backed his quickfire 48 with four-wicket haul and steered South Africa to an 11-run victory over Pakistan in the first T20I of the three-match series here at the Kingsmead Stadium on Tuesday.
Chasing a daunting 184-run target, the green shirts could accumulate 172/8 in the allotted 20 overs despite skipper Mohammad Rizwan’s half-century.
The touring side had a shaky start to the pursuit as their star batter Babar Azam perished for a four-ball duck in the third over with the scoreboard reading 16/1.
Following the early 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 batter scored a quick 31 off just 15 balls with the help of seven boundaries.
Rizwan, who batted cautiously until the 16th over, finally switched gears and smashed Kwena Maphaka for two sixes in the following over.
The right-handed batter eventually walked back on the second delivery of the final over when he skied a Maphaka’s short delivery outside off towards the third-man region, where Nqabayomzi Peter took an easy catch.
He remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with a 62-ball 74, which featured five fours and three sixes.
Maphaka then displayed nerves of steel and conceded only six runs off the remaining four deliveries and led his side to an 11-run victory in the series opener.
For South Africa, Linde bagged four wickets, followed by Kwena Maphaka with two, while Ottneil Baartman and Simelane made one scalp apiece.
Opting to bat first, South Africa registered a formidable total of 183/9, courtesy of David Miller’s swashbuckling half-century, followed by Linde’s late fireworks.
The home side, however, got off to a dismal start as they lost 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 partnered briefly with opener Reeza Hendricks for an 18-run partnership, which culminated in the fourth over with the latter’s dismissal after scoring eight off nine.
Following Hendricks’ departure, Miller switched gears and dominated the touring side’s bowlers with belligerent hitting.
The left-handed batter smashed eight sixes and four fours on his way to top score for South Africa with a quickfire 82 off just 40 deliveries.
David Miller was involved in two one-sided partnerships with skipper Heinrich Klaasen (12) and Donovan Ferreira (seven) before falling victim to Pakistan’s star with the 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 back in South Africa’s favour with late fireworks, the highlight of which was his three sixes against Sufiyan Muqeem in the final over.
Linde remained a significant contributor for South Africa with a quickfire 48 off 24 deliveries, laced with three fours and four sixes, while Kwena Maphaka played a supportive role with an unbeaten 12.
Besides Shaheen, Abrar Ahmed also bagged three wickets for Pakistan but was expensive 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, chipped in with one scalp.
The 11-run victory gave South Africa a 1-0 lead in the ongoing three-match series against Pakistan, with the second T20I scheduled to be played on December 13 in Centurion.
