Half-centuries from South African openers Janneman Malan and Aiden Markram helped the hosts get to 203/5. However, Babar Azam’s fabulous 122 and Mohammad Rizwan’s unbeaten 73 helped Pakistan get over the line comfortably as they knocked off the target with two overs to spare.
It was a day when two opening partnerships flourished, but the Pakistan pair outshone their South African counterparts. Babar Azam smashed a stunning 122, his maiden T20I ton and was well supported by Mohammad Rizwan at the other end as Pakistan romped home to a nine-wicket win while chasing 204.
Pakistan won the toss and opted to field first. Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Nawaz bowled a couple of good overs upfront. Apart from the six that Nawaz conceded off the final ball in the second over, it was a quiet start for the Proteas.
Malan cut loose in the third over as he struck a four and a six off Afridi to give the hosts some impetus. Nawaz was hit for another six in the fourth over. Markram got stuck into Hasan Ali, who was brought into the attack in the fifth over. Markram hit Ali for three fours and a six to bring up South Africa’s 50 before Haris Rauf conceded 13 runs in the sixth over as South Africa finished the powerplay 65/0.
The Markram-Malan opening duo knocked it around for a couple of overs after the powerplay before going out on the attack again. Markram got to his third fifty in a row and brought up the 100 in the 10th over. Nawaz knocked him over in the 11th as he went for a big slog sweep across the line.
George Linde walked out at No. 3 and continued belting boundaries as Malan got to his maiden T20I half-century at the other end. But a couple of quiet overs and the wickets of Malan and Linde helped Pakistan claw their way back into the game.
At the end of the 15th over, South Africa were 148/3, and it seemed like Pakistan could just manage to restrict the hosts to under 200. But Rassie van der Dussen who returned from an injury, smashed an unbeaten 34 off just 20 balls to help South Africa cross the 200-mark and finish with 203. Henrich Klaasen and Andile Phehlukwayo chipped in with a few boundaries as well.
In reply, like their South African counterparts, the Pakistan opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam also took a couple of overs to settle down. They scored 11 runs in the first couple of overs, but from the third over, it was absolute carnage.
The South African bowlers erred in line and length as the Azam-Rizwan duo smashed them to all corners of the SuperSport Park in Centurion. They put on 64 in the powerplay, and it was Beuran Hendricks who got thrashed for 40 runs in the three overs that he bowled in the powerplay.
The carnage didn’t stop there as Azam and Rizwan got at least one boundary of every over. Azam, who made a 50-ball 50 in the second T20I, raced away to a half-century in just 27 balls. He brought up the milestone in the ninth over before racing away to a stunning 49-ball ton. Rizwan at the other end also got to fifty, his second of the series.
Azam thrashed every bowler out of his sight but fell on 122 when Pakistan needed just seven runs to win. It was Lizaard Williams who gave South Africa the sole breakthrough. Fakhar Zaman strolled out and smashed a couple of boundaries to wrap up the game with two overs to spare for Pakistan. It was a game where records tumbled as Azam racked up the highest-ever score by a Pakistan player in a T20I. Pakistan have now taken an unbeatable 2-1 lead in this four-match T20I series.
Brief Scores
South Africa 203/5 (Markram 63, Malan 55, van der Dussen 34, Nawaz 2/38, Ashraf 1/37) lost to Pakistan 205/1 (Azam 122, Rizwan 73, Williams 1/34) by nine wickets
