Fast bowler Dwain Pretorius recorded the best figures in the shortest format for South Africa after beating Pakistan by six wickets in the second T20 International match in Lahore on Saturday.
Fast bowler Dwain Pretorius recorded the best figures in the shortest format for South Africa after beating Pakistan by six wickets in the second T20 International match in Lahore on Saturday. At the age of 31, 5–17 bowled Pakistan at 144.27 in 20.2 overs before Pite van Biljon (42) and Reeja Hendrik (42) and put South Africa behind by a modest target in 16.2 overs. It was a canny performance from Pretorius, who scored a slight improvement over South Africa’s previous best figures by medium pacer Ryan McLaren in 2010 against the West Indies at North Sound.
Mohammad Rizwan smashed a 51-ball 41 for Pakistan, hitting six fours and a six, while Faheem Ashraf hit two fours and several sixes in an unbeaten 30-ball 30-ball 12.
Pakistan’s Lankan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi gave his team a perfect start in the second over of the innings with Janman Malan and John-Jon Smuts finishing 2-18 in three overs.
But Hendrix and Biljon punished some indecisive bowling for their 77-run third wicket, which fell in both consecutive overs.
Hendrik, who hit three sixes and several fours in 30 balls, finally caught leg-spinner Usman Qadir in the 12th over. Biljon hit two sixes and three fours off 32 balls before he had a brilliant lead towards left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz.
David Miller (25 not out) and captain Henrik Klassen (17 not out) added 40 runs for a total of 40.
“I am happy that I have contributed to the win,” Pretorius said. “We had a plan in our bowling and we did them well for this good win.”
The series decider will also take place in Lahore on Sunday.
“It will be a big night on Sunday and I hope we can pull out of the series win,” Klassen said.
Pakistan was once again eliminated by Rizwan, who played a stunning inning of 89 against New Zealand in December and then 104 in the second match.
After losing the toss, Pakistan captain Babar Azam batted but soon returned to the pavilion as Pretorius trapped his leg in the second over.
From 48-6, the home side struggled, but Rizwan, who became only the fifth Pakistani batsman to score three consecutive T20 fifties, added 45 for the fourth wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed, who scored 20 runs.
Mohammad Hafeez (twice), Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, and Azam have previously scored three fifties in T20 matches in a row.
Rizwan eventually went for 51, dismissing Andile Fehlukwayo after Pretorius fell for the slower ball.
Pretorius also dismissed Iftikhar and Khushdil Shah for 15 before bowling out Nawaz’s second ball as he took more than one wicket for the first time in his 13-match T20 international career.
