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All-round Linde leads Proteas to victory over Pakistan

football10 December 2024 20:37| © MWP
By:Patrick Compton
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Player of the match George Linde slammed 48 and then claimed 4-21 – his best figures in T20I cricket – to help South Africa beat Pakistan by 11 runs in the first T20I at Kingsmead in Durban on Tuesday night.

Replying to South Africa’s total of 182 for nine, dominated by a dashing David Miller (82 off 40 balls, including 4x4s and 8x6s)) and Linde (48 in 24 balls), Pakistan eventually were restricted to 172 for eight wickets in front of a boisterous capacity crowd.

The tourists made a brisk start to their run chase despite their star batter, Babar Azam, falling for a duck in the third over, well caught by Andile Simelane after he top-edged a slash to third-man off Kwena Maphaka.

Left-hander Saim Ayub played a superb cameo, striking some handsome strokes all around the wicket, stroking seven fours in his 31 in just 15 balls.

While he was in, Pakistan completed the power play on 55 for one, a distinct improvement on South Africa’s 43 for three, but when Ayub was well caught by Matthew Breetzke at deep cover, the momentum of the innings slackened.

But Pakistan skipper Muhammad Rizwan took two sixes and a four off a chaotic 17th over from Maphaka that included overthrows and missed run-out chances, with a total of 24 coming off the over, the most expensive of the match.

That left 36 off the last three overs with Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi looking dangerous.

But then Linde took a hand in effectively winning the match for his country.

First he had Afridi stumped by Heinrich Klaasen, then, with his fourth ball, he had Irfan Khan caught in the deep by Breetzke.

With his next ball he trapped Abbas Afridi leg before.

Facing the prospect of a hat-trick, the ground exploded with glee when he gained the assent of umpire Stephen Harris after he rapped Haris Rauf on the pads.

Sadly for him, the decision was overturned on review, but Linde had done more than enough to clinch victory for his team with three wickets in the over.

Maphaka then gained some revenge for his expensive over when, with the second ball of the final over, with Pakistan needing 19 to win, Rizman was caught at short third-man for a superb 74 off 62 balls, including five fours and three sixes.

His was an excellent contribution to his team, but it was not quite enough.

MILLER AND LINDE FIRE WITH THE BAT

Earlier, Miller played one of his most dazzling T20I innings but he and Linde proved to be the lone guns for the home team as Pakistan restricted the Proteas to 183 for nine in their 20 overs after skipper Klaasen had won the toss and chosen to bat on a stiflingly humid Durban night.

Pakistan got off to the perfect start when Shaheen Afridi bowled Rassie van der Dussen first ball in the opening over as the opener got an inside edge to a full delivery that crashed into his stumps.

Matthew Breetzke was quick to follow in the next over with a particularly soft dismissal as he cut legspinner Abrar Ahmed tamely to backward point.

Miller was at the crease much earlier than usual, in only the second over, but he immediately looked in fine fettle, clipping Shaheen Afridi off his legs for four before striking an exquisite back-foot drive to the fence.

Reeza Hendricks became the third South African wicket to fall in the power-play when he was too late on a fast top-spinning delivery that he tried to hit through the covers, the ball spearing through to shatter his stumps.

And when Heinrich Klaasen was caught on the boundary at cow corner – the ball getting caught in the stiff south-westerly wind – South Africa had slipped to 71 for four in the ninth over.

Since the second over, South Africa had largely been firing on Miller’s momentum. A highlight of his innings was three consecutive sixes off Abrar Ahmed, the third a monstrous effort into the south stand.

A century was his for the taking until he marginally mistimed a flat pull of Shaheen Afridi to deep midwicket in the 14th over.

Two wickets fell quickly after Miller’s dismissal but a brisk partnership of 42 in 25 balls between Linde and Maphaka helped to give the Proteas’ total a competitive look.

Linde climaxed his innings, and the innings as a whole, with three huge sixes in Sufiyan’s Muqeen’s final over, an on-drive landing in the third tier of the south stand.

When he holed out to the final ball, he had struck three fours and four sixes in his 24-ball 48, an excellent effort.

The most successful Pakistan bowlers were Shaheen Afridi (3-22), Abrar Ahmed (3-37) and Abbas Afridi (2-30).

Muqeen claimed the final wicket, but his four overs were expensive, going for 53, including six sixes.

SOUTH AFRICA Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Matthew Breetzke, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen (capt, w/k), Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Andile Simelane, Nqaba Peter, Kwena Maphaka, Ottniel Baartman

PAKISTAN: Mohammad Rizwan (capt, w/k), Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed

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