CENTURION – South Africa beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the second T20I at SuperSport Park, Centurion on Friday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Chasing a challenging 207-run target for the victory, South Africa crossed the finish line with seven wickets in hand and three balls to spare despite losing two early wickets.
The player of the match, Reeza Hendricks, scored the most runs, 117, followed by Rassie van der Dussen, who made 66. Jahandad Khan bagged two wickets while Abbas Afridi took one.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Pakistan lost skipper Mohammad Rizwan (11) early with just 16 runs on the board. Saim Ayub (98) and Babar Azam (31) stitched an 87-run partnership to provide a perfect launching pad to the visitors.
In the company of set batsman Saim Ayub, Irfan Khan (30) and Abbas Afridi (11) finished strongly to take the team score to 206/5 in the allocated 20 overs. Debutant Dayyaan Galiem and Ottneil Baartman bagged two wickets each while George Linde took the prized wicket of Babar Azam.
Pakistan made one change, bringing in allrounder Jahandad Khan in place of Sufiyan Muqeem.
Pakistan Playing XI: Mohammad Rizwan (c, wk), Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Irfan Niazi, Jahandad Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
South Africa Playing XI: Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Matthew Breetzke, Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen (c & wk), Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Dayyaan Galiem (on debut), Nqaba Peter, Kwena Maphaka, Ottneil Baartman
