The series is on the line on Saturday and although the visitors missed the first T20I, there is quality in their line
Big picture
The South African side may be in the second tier, but nothing of the second tier about cricket was seen at Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday. In a thrilling event that took up to the 240th member of the match to finally reveal the winner, South Africa competed against Pakistan, and, for big chunks of the game, the best side was, just short fall due to two remarkable individual performances by Mohammad Rizwan and Usman Qadir. It’s up to the visitors to encourage them to have more strength in depth than they’ve been credited with, and they get into the second game with the series feeling very much alive.
Pakistan will have concerns despite a narrow win. It was, in fact, a rather incomparable performance from the guests, especially for the bats and fast archers. Rizwan side, no one was higher than 21 with the bat, and Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Faheem Ashraf came together to release 118 runs in 11 innings. That’s not a template for winning T20I games, and Babar Azam’s side will be well aware that they will need more accurate performances if they are to put up the series as soon as possible.
South Africa will arrive, once again, when they failed to miss important moments, as was the case in the Test series. After Pakistan held on a leash for long periods and picked up wickets regularly, the visitors were unable to put pressure on Rizwan, who rose to the task of being (almost) the last one standing with flying colors. Junior Dala and Lutho Sipamla consistently missed the lines and dropped an expensive 49 off 5 overs. With the stick, Janneman Malan played an interesting knock, but unlike Rizwan, he couldn’t turn his 29-ball 44 into a game-winning score, while Reeza Hendricks struggled to a half-acre. century turned into an explosive house once the dynamic questioning level of the game changed.
South Africa have never lost a T20I series in Asia, and they must win tomorrow to maintain that record. They will have decisions to make in the bowling division, hoping that key players like David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen will come to the party in a way they did not on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s more recognizable options like Hasan Ali or Mohammad Hasnain have to call for some of the puppies who had a terrible time in the first game. With the T20 World Cup less than a year away, neither side will have the mind to get a chance to experience players who may be missing in India in October.
Form instructions
Pakistan WWLLW (last five completed games, most recent first)
South Africa LLLLL
In mind
Khushdil Shah he was called up to the Pakistan side based on his crucial achievements at the T20 Cup late last year, but so far, the left – winger has done little to confirm his selection. One hundred and fifteen runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 113 is largely not what was advertised when Pakistan decided to take on a pound, and for most of those games, it was not it ‘s never like getting into that zone he says he’ s the most destructive fighter on the domestic tour. On Thursday, he fell for a run-of-12 ball after one big hit, struggling to adapt to changes in pace set against him. T20I cricket is a step up from the home run Khushdil has become a myth, but if his struggles here continue, he may get a one-way ticket back to that level.
In four tight vests, Tabraiz Shamsi it showed that his absence from South Africa’s chances in the Test series was a terrible blow. Lahore’s surface supported the spinners, and if Qadir got the headlines for four spying hits, Shamsi would not be far behind. He reached the ball in the right places often enough to keep the bats careful, surrendering just two limits in four petals costing just 20. Hussain Talat was dismissed, though controversial, just because of Shamsi’s mastery of flying, pulls his man forward to allow him to catch Klassen out of his shower. Pakistan expects to be just as threatening tomorrow.
Team news
Pakistan could be lured to bring in Asif Ali after the middle order went wrong, while Hasnain or Hasan could try it, perhaps for Afridi, who is about to take over. fois.
Pakistan (probably): 1 Babar Azam (capt) 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk) 3 Haider Ali 4 Khushdil Shah 5 Asif Ali / Hussain Talat 6 Faheem Ashraf 7 Iftikhar Ahmed 8. Mohammad Nawaz 9 Hasan Ali / Shaheen Afridi 10 Haris Rauf 11 Usman Qadir
Dala and Jacques Snyman had tough games, but South Africa turned in a stable enough performance without the need for a major overhaul.
South Africa (probably): 1 Janneman Malan 2 Reeza Hendricks 3 Jon-Jon Smuts / Jacques Snyman 4 David Miller 5 Heinrich Klaasen (capt & wk)) 6 Andile Phehlukwayo 7 Dwaine Pretorius 8 Bjorn Fortuin 9 Lutho Sipamla 10 Tabraiz Shamsi 11 Glenton Stuurman
Park and conditions
The wicket should take a spin again, but there was a sense that it had more runs in it than the first T20I issued. A game with high scores would be no surprise.
Stats and trivia
- Rizwan’s time in the first T20I made him just the second wicket keeper to score hundreds of internationals in all three forms. The other is former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum.
- Babar Azam’s duck was just the second time a Pakistani captain has failed in T20I. The first time it happened against Bangladesh came last year, also at Gaddafi Stadium.
- South Africa have now lost five T20Is in a row, the first time this has ever happened.
Danyal Rasool is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @ Danny61000