South Africa Defeats Pakistan in First T20 Match

ISLAMABAD: In the first T20 match, South Africa defeated Pakistan by a significant margin. Chasing a target of 195 runs, Pakistan was bowled out for just 139 runs.

Saem Ayub top-scored for Pakistan with 37 runs, while Mohammad Nawaz contributed 36 and Sahibzada Farhan added 24. Other notable contributions included Usman Khan with 12, Shaheen Afridi 4, Hasan Nawaz 3, and Salman Ali Agha 2 runs. For South Africa, Corbin Bosch took 4 wickets and George captured 3.

Pakistan lost their first wicket at 31, and Sahibzada Farhan was dismissed for 24. Babar Azam was out without scoring when the team total was 33. Captain Salman Ali Agha was dismissed at 43 for 2 runs.

Read more: Pakistan win toss, opt to field first against South Africa in first T20I

Saem Ayub fell at 82, caught off George’s delivery. Hasan Nawaz was out at 85 for 3 runs, and Usman Khan was dismissed at 87 for 12. Fahim Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah also fell cheaply, leaving Mohammad Nawaz, who scored 36, as the last man out.

Earlier, South Africa set a competitive target of 195 runs after batting first. The match was played in Rawalpindi, where Pakistan won the toss and chose to field first. South Africa finished their 20 overs at 194/9.

South Africa Innings Highlights

Rassie Hendricks led the scoring with 60 runs, followed by George Linde 36, David Miller 33, and Faf du Plessis 23. Other contributions came from Donovan Ferreira 10, Bryce 9, and Corbin Bosch 7.

For Pakistan, Mohammad Nawaz took 3 wickets, Saem Ayub 2, while Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Abrar Ahmed picked one wicket each.

South Africa lost their wickets steadily: De Kock fell at 44 for 23, Du Plessis at 93 for 33, Bryce at 109 for 9, and Breezke at 112 for 1, showing Pakistan fought hard but could not match the target.

This victory gives South Africa an early lead in the T20 series.