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All the excitement surrounding Babar Azam’s long-awaited return to T20Is after 10 months quickly turned into disbelief as the star batter was dismissed for a duck in his comeback match, one that saw South Africa comprehensively outplay Pakistan in Rawalpindi. While Babar’s return dominated the headlines, it was the Proteas who stole the show in the series opener.
Quinton de Kock rediscovered his rhythm after reversing his retirement, and Reeza Hendricks looked in supreme touch with a fluent 60. Debutant Tony de Zorzi and George Linde provided the finishing touches as South Africa posted 194/9, the joint-highest T20I total at Rawalpindi, before skittling Pakistan for just 139. With Dewald Brevis and Donovan Ferreira yet to feature, the visitors appear to have even more firepower in reserve.
Pakistan, meanwhile, were lacklustre across departments. Four bowlers conceded over 10 runs an over, while the middle order folded against the pace of Corbin Bosch and the spin of Linde. The lone bright spots were Mohammad Nawaz and Saim Ayub, who combined for five wickets while keeping things tight with figures of 8 overs for just 57 runs.
As the series shifts to Lahore, where Pakistan hold a 16–10 T20I record, the hosts will be desperate to bounce back and level the series, with both sides fine-tuning their combinations ahead of the rapidly approaching ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Squads:
Pakistan Squad: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Salman Agha(c), Usman Khan(w), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq, Abdul Samad
South Africa Squad: Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock(w), Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Matthew Breetzke, Donovan Ferreira(c), George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman, Andile Simelane, Nqabayomzi Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius
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All posters, please take note of the following guidelines for match threads on PakPassion:
1. No personal insults at other posters, players, officials, coaching staff, etc.
2. No making fun of players', officials', or coaching staff's names.
3. Do not add any references to media, their social media, or post any pictures or screenshots from other sports websites.
4. Stick to commenting on this match. There is no need to bring other countries into the match discussion, as there are plenty of other threads where those discussions can be added.
Quinton de Kock rediscovered his rhythm after reversing his retirement, and Reeza Hendricks looked in supreme touch with a fluent 60. Debutant Tony de Zorzi and George Linde provided the finishing touches as South Africa posted 194/9, the joint-highest T20I total at Rawalpindi, before skittling Pakistan for just 139. With Dewald Brevis and Donovan Ferreira yet to feature, the visitors appear to have even more firepower in reserve.
Pakistan, meanwhile, were lacklustre across departments. Four bowlers conceded over 10 runs an over, while the middle order folded against the pace of Corbin Bosch and the spin of Linde. The lone bright spots were Mohammad Nawaz and Saim Ayub, who combined for five wickets while keeping things tight with figures of 8 overs for just 57 runs.
As the series shifts to Lahore, where Pakistan hold a 16–10 T20I record, the hosts will be desperate to bounce back and level the series, with both sides fine-tuning their combinations ahead of the rapidly approaching ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Squads:
Pakistan Squad: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Salman Agha(c), Usman Khan(w), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq, Abdul Samad
South Africa Squad: Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock(w), Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Matthew Breetzke, Donovan Ferreira(c), George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman, Andile Simelane, Nqabayomzi Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius
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All posters, please take note of the following guidelines for match threads on PakPassion:
1. No personal insults at other posters, players, officials, coaching staff, etc.
2. No making fun of players', officials', or coaching staff's names.
3. Do not add any references to media, their social media, or post any pictures or screenshots from other sports websites.
4. Stick to commenting on this match. There is no need to bring other countries into the match discussion, as there are plenty of other threads where those discussions can be added.
