Pakistan on Wednesday thrashed South Africa by nine wickets after a major contribution by skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in the third T20I played at Centurion.
Babar Azam made 122 runs, hitting his first T20I hundred, while Rizwan scored unbeaten 73 to help Pakistan win the match.
Pakistan leads the series with 2-1.
Earlier, South Africa had set a target of 204 runs for Pakistan in the third T20I.
IT IS OVER!
Pakistan win the third #SAvPAK T20I by nine wickets. Scorecard: https://t.co/MIpgV1OZlX#HarHaalMainCricket | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/jTfhYMMOvI
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) April 14, 2021
Fifties from Aiden Markram and Janneman Malan and quick-fire cameo from Rassie van der Dussen helped Proteas to put up a formidable 203.
Innings Break!
South Africa finish with 203-5 (20 overs)#SAvPAK | #HarHaalMainCricket | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/ZMN5pXSGQa
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) April 14, 2021
Preview
South Africa couldn’t recover from the road against Pakistan within the opening T20I at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. But at an equivalent venue, they managed to draw the equalizer, winning by six wickets with 36 balls to spare.
With the series 1-1, a win for either team would help them gain an unassailable lead within the series. The third game is about to be played at the SuperSport Park, Centurion. The numbers are in Pakistan’s favor going into the upcoming contest on Wednesday, April 14. Babar Azam and Co have beaten the Proteas in two out of two T20Is at the venue.
Moreover, the Proteas have a 5-5 win-loss record in T20Is in Centurion. The hosts showed tons of character within the last game despite not having a number of their key players, and that they would be trying to find an identical show.
Match Details
Match – South Africa vs Pakistan – 3rd match
Venue – SuperSport Park, Centurion
Time – 6:00 PM IST, 12:30 PM GMT
Where to watch live – PTV Sports, Hotstar
Pitch Report
The pitch at the SuperSport Park has been an outstanding one for batting thus far. In 10 T20Is, teams have achieved a run rate of around nine. Even in the ODI series, the two matches turned out to be high-scoring ones. Teams may avoid chasing as the teams, batting first, have won seven out of 10 matches. The conditions will be sunny with a temperature around 28 degrees Celsius.
Avg score: 179 (10 T20Is at the SuperSport Park)
Record of chasing teams: Won – 3, Lost – 7, Tied – 0
Probable Playing XIs:
South Africa
Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, Pite Van Biljon, Rassie van der Dussen/Wihan Lubbe, Heinrich Klaasen (c & wk), George Linde, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin, Lutho Sipamla, Beuran Hendricks, Tabraiz Shamsi
Bench: JJ Smuts, Dwaine Pretorius/Sisanda Magala, Lizaad Williams, Keshav Maharaj, Daryn Dupavillon, Kyle Verreynne
Pakistan
Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Usman Qadir
Bench: Imam-ul-Haq, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Asif Ali, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Abdullah Shafique, Sarfaraz Ahmed/Asif Ali
Head-to-Head
Overall
Played – 19 | South Africa– 10 |Pakistan – 9 |N/R – 0
Likely the best batsman of the match
Aiden Markram- South Africa
Aiden Markram has been in excellent rhythm at the top of the order. He hasn’t played the big and booming strokes but has made sure of keeping the scoreboard ticking. The right-hander is currently the leading run-scorer in the series with 105 runs at an average and strike rate of 52.50 and 169.35 respectively. He already has two half-centuries to show for his efforts.
Likely best bowler of the match
Hasan Ali– Pakistan
Hasan Ali has looked reasonable until now in Pakistan’s bowling. He missed out on the ODI series but has made sure of contributing in the shortest format. In the six overs he has bowled thus far, the pacer has picked up three wickets. His economy of 7.33 isn’t the worst, bearing in mind that he has bowled on pitches, which haven’t had much to offer to the pacers.
