South Africa cruise to six-wicket victory over hapless Pakistan

South Africa cruised to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Pakistan, chasing down a subpar 141-run target in 14 overs, in second Twenty20 International (T20I) between the sides at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Monday.

After a disciplined effort with the ball to restrict Pakistan for a manageable total, South Africa’s batsmen made their intentions clear from the start. The Proteas raced to 44 runs in 26 balls before pacer Hasan Ali removed opener Janneman Malan (15 off 10 balls), caught by fielder Shaheen Shah, to provide the Men in Green with their first breakthrough.

Pacer Mohammad Hasnain then removed batsman Wihan Lubbe (12 off seven balls) as Pakistan looked to stop the flow of runs.

The Proteas batsmen however continued their aggressive onslaught as they tried to level the series. Opener Aiden Markram was finally removed by leg-spinner Usman Qadir, caught by fielder Faheem Ashraf, after scoring 54 runs off 30 balls.

Batsman Pite van Biljon (two off six balls) fell next off the bowling of Usman Qadir, caught behind by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan.

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All-rounder George Linde then joined skipper Heinrich Klaasen and the two batsmen saw their side over the target.

Klaasen remained unbeaten after scoring 36 runs off 21 balls while George Linde remained unbeaten after scoring 20 runs off 10 balls.

Usman Qadir was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan picking up two wickets at the expense of 26 runs in his allotted four overs. 

Earlier, after winning the toss and opting to bat first, Pakistan were off to a horrible start as opener Mohammad Rizwan attempted a wild slog off the first ball of the match from spinner George Linde and ended up being caught by fielder Aiden Markram for a golden duck.

Explosive opener Sharjeel Khan departed soon after, caught by Markram off the bowling of Linde, scoring just eight runs off 12 balls.

Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez then joined skipper Babar Azam for a 58-run partnership off 49 balls.

Linde however returned to remove Hafeez (32 off 23 balls), caught behind by wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen, as Pakistan searched for quick runs to post a significant total.

South Africa did not allow any batsmen to take a sustained aggressive approach by taking regular wickets.

Batsman Haider Ali (12 off nine balls) was removed by spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, caught by fielder George Linde. All-rounder Faheem Ashraf departed next, caught by fielder George Linde off the bowling of Lizaad Williams, after scoring five runs off 10 balls.

Hasan Ali came in firing on all cylinders and hit two big sixes before falling on the third ball, caught by fielder George Linde off the bowling of Lizaad Williams.

Babar Azam, who had been holding one end as wickets fell, decided to take a chance and was bowled by pacer Sisanda Magala after scoring 50 runs off 50 balls.

Williams then removed all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz (two off three balls), caught by wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen, as South Africa piled on the pressure.

Tailender Usman Qadir (four off five balls) was removed through a run-out in the last over as Pakistan were restricted to a subpar 140 runs at the end of their allotted overs.

George Linde and Lizaad Williams were the pick of the bowlers for South Africa picking up three wickets each.

George Linde was adjudged the man of the match for his work with both bat and ball.