JOHANNESBURG: The Pakistan cricket team has arrived in Johannesburg from Durban for the second T20I match against South Africa, scheduled for tomorrow.
After an 11-run defeat in the opening match, the Men in Green are gearing up to bounce back and level the series.
The first T20I, held at Kingsmead, saw South Africa emerge victorious with a dominant performance.
The hosts posted a challenging total of 183/9, powered by explosive knocks from George Linde and David Miller.
Linde contributed with a strong all-round performance, scoring 48 off 24 balls and taking 4/21, while Miller’s fiery 82 off 40 balls anchored the innings.
Pakistan's bowling attack led by Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed showed promise with both players claiming three wickets apiece.
However, despite a solid fightback, Pakistan fell short in their chase.
Mohammad Rizwan scored 74 off 62 balls, but his innings was marred by a slow start, as he struggled to accelerate in the early overs.
Opening the batting for Pakistan in pursuit of 184, Rizwan found himself at 46 off 49 balls by the 16th over, with the team needing 60 runs from the last four overs.
He then picked up the pace, smashing two sixes off Kwena Maphaka in the 17th over, bringing up his half-century off 50 balls.
However his late surge was insufficient to take Pakistan over the line as he was dismissed for 74 on the second ball of the final over leaving the tailenders with too much to do.
His 74 off 62 balls came at a strike rate of 119.35, marking his third-lowest strike rate in a fifty-plus innings.
The 32-year-old's knock was also the second-slowest 70-plus innings by a T20I captain, just behind New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, who scored 70 off 60 balls against Pakistan in 2016.
His innings ranks fourth on the list of slowest T20I knocks by a full-member batter facing 60 or more balls in a run chase, closely following compatriot Sarfaraz Ahmed, who scored an unbeaten 76 off 64 deliveries against New Zealand in 2014, albeit in a winning cause.
