South Africa began their T20I series against Pakistan with a dominant 55-run victory at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, thanks to Reeza Hendricks’ half-century and a stellar four-wicket haul by Corbin Bosch.
Set a challenging target of 195, Pakistan were dismissed for 139 in 18.1 overs, with their batting lineup collapsing under consistent pressure from the visitors.
Pakistan’s chase started cautiously as Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub shared a 31-run opening stand. Farhan made 24 off 19 balls before being dismissed by Lizaad Williams. The innings quickly derailed when Babar Azam fell for a two-ball duck to Bosch, and skipper Agha Salman was trapped leg-before attempting a cross-batted shot.
Saim Ayub counterattacked with an aggressive 37 off 28 balls, featuring four sixes and a boundary, but his dismissal triggered a collapse — Pakistan lost their final six wickets for just 54 runs.
All-rounder Faheem Ashraf offered brief resistance with a 20-ball 36 (four fours, two sixes) before Williams ended his innings. Bosch led the bowling with 4 wickets, Linde claimed 3, and Williams took 2 to wrap up the innings.
Earlier, South Africa posted a formidable 194-9 after being put in to bat. Hendricks anchored the innings with 60 off 40 deliveries, including five fours and a six, while opener Quinton de Kock scored a quick 23 off 12 balls.
The openers added 44 in just 3.5 overs, giving the Proteas a flying start. Tony de Zorzi maintained the momentum with 33 off 16 balls, smashing five fours and a six before being stumped off Mohammad Nawaz, who led Pakistan’s bowling effort with 3 wickets.
Despite Nawaz’s control in the middle overs, South Africa’s batting depth ensured a strong finish.
Player of the Match: Corbin Bosch (4/XX – dominant all-round bowling performance)
Playing XIs:
South Africa: Q de Kock†, RR Hendricks, T de Zorzi, D Brevis, MP Breetzke, D Ferreira*, GF Linde, C Bosch, LB Williams, N Burger, L Ngidi.
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Agha Salman*, Usman Khan†, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed.
With this win, South Africa lead the three-match T20I series 1-0, leaving Pakistan with work to do ahead of the second match.
