South Africa vs Pakistan 1st T20I Highlights: South Africa Beat Pakistan By 11 Runs

Welcome back for the run chase! The umpires and the players are out in the middle. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan walk in swinging their swords for Pakistan. Kwena Maphaka has a new ball in hand and is raring to go. Some issues with the sightscreen as there is a bit of delay. All fine now and we are good to go. Let's play...

... The Run Chase ...

Now, with the stage set, it’s over to Pakistan for their reply. Will they chase down the target or will South Africa’s bowlers rise to the occasion? Stay tuned, folks, it’s going to be an exciting second half...

On the bowling front, Pakistan had their moments. While Abrar Ahmed’s spell was somewhat expensive, he did manage to snare three crucial wickets. Shaheen Afridi, however, was the standout, as he picked up three vital wickets as well, including that of the in-form Miller, while maintaining a tight economy rate. One can’t help but wonder, had Miller been dismissed early, and George Linde on time, South Africa’s total might have looked very different indeed. Also, in a surprising turn of events, Pakistan were outstanding with their fielding, which is often a point of critique for their team.

Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, Miller single-handedly lifted South Africa from a precarious position. His dismissal in the 14th over was a significant moment, as it subdued the scoring rate considerably. The remaining batters were left with the challenging task of finishing strong but George Linde stood up at that moment to play an explosive knock at the end. He fell on the last ball with just two runs shy of his half-century, giving his team an upper hand!

A first half, slightly in favour of the hosts as they end up with a score of 183 on the board! They faced an uphill battle after losing three early wickets. Enter David Miller, the man of the hour, who truly took the Pakistan bowlers to task. He ran havoc over the Pakistan bowlers with his 82 runs off just 40 balls and kept the scoreboard ticking with his barrage of boundaries, sending several balls into the stands.

OUT! IN THE AIR AND GONE! George Linde holes out on the last ball of the innings! He has done his job though. His 48 off 24 balls has helped South Africa finish with 183. Coming to the delivery, this was bowled slower through the air and the length was pulled back a bit, outside off, George Linde attempted the slog sweep as he reached out in front. Got more height than distance on it. Irfan Khan settled under it and did the rest at deep mid-wicket.

SIX! BANG! Clean strike! Muqeem gives the ball air and it is a bit too full, on off, George Linde gets close to the line of the ball and launches it over long off for the third six of the over.

Well bowled! Fired in, shorter and away from the batter's arc, George Linde reaches out for the cut but misses.

SIX TWO IN TWO! Sufiyan Muqeem misses his mark and dishes it out right in the slot, on middle and leg, George Linde clears his front leg and clobbers it high and handsome over the long on fence for a biggie. 12 runs off the first 3 balls.

SIX! George Linde shows why he turned down the single on the first ball! Muqeem floats it up, full and on off, George Linde is through his shot a bit early and the bat turns in his hand as he goes for the slog sweep. He manages to get enough bat on it to clear the deep mid-wicket fence.

Looped up, full and on off, George Linde fails to get underneath it properly. Pumps it flat and on the bounce to long off. Linde does not take the single.

Quick single taken! Slower one from Rauf, into the wicket, on middle, George Linde drops it with soft hands at his feet and calls Kwena Maphaka through for a quick single. Rauf tries to kick the ball onto the stumps but misses. A good over for South Africa. 12 runs off it.

WIDE! Rauf bangs it in way too short, over off. George Linde lets it go. It sails over the batter's head for a wide.

FOUR! Clever, very clever! Rauf misses his yorker and ends up serving a low full toss, on middle, George Linde stays leg side of the ball and opens the bat face to slice it to the right of backward point for four more runs.

Full and straight, attacking the stumps, Kwena Maphaka presents a straight bat and pats it to the left of the bowler. Gets it past the diving Rauf in his follow-through for a run.

FOUR! Up and over! At 143 kph, on a length, on off, Kwena Maphaka's weight stays on the back foot as he looks to go down the ground. He still manages to clear Shaheen Afridi at mid off for a boundary. These are handy runs for South Africa.

Fuller and on the pads, a bit too straight, Kwena Maphaka misses the tickle and gets hit on the pads.

Sees the batter back away does Rauf and he follows him with a length delivery, George Linde thumps it along the carpet to the right of long off for one.

Hurls it very full, on off, Kwena Maphaka drills it hard as he reaches out but Babar Azam at extra cover dives to his left to cut it off. Good stop!