Proteas’ batting frailties exposed again as Pakistan clinch T20 series decider in Lahore

The Proteas’ top order batters again folded like a pack of cards as they lost the decider in the three-match T20 International series against Pakistan in Lahore on Saturday by four wickets after posting 139/9 as the hosts capped a remarkable comeback after losing the first match.

Pakistan won the toss for the third time in a row and again sent the South African side in to bat at the Gaddafi Stadium. The decision was vindicated almost immediately when Proteas opener Quinton de Kock played on to a Shaheen Afridi off-cutter off the second ball as he continues to struggle for momentum after his recent comeback. 

Series debutant Lhuan-dre Pretorius then fell off the next ball, caught down the leg side with SA yet to get off the mark. 

Dewalt Brevis then survived an lbw decision thanks to DRS, with fears of a repeat of Friday night’s calamitous batting collapse fresh in the minds of Proteas fans.

Fellow opener Reeza Hendricks scored the first boundary for SA with a glorious drive down the ground in the third over (11/2) but the Proteas batters were struggling to find their timing and rhythm as they limped to 22/2 at the end of the PowerPlay.

Brevis then hit spinner Mohammad Nawaz for two sixes in his first over to break the shackles in the seventh over. But just like he did on Friday night, he threw his wicket away, holing out to mid-off for a run-a-ball 21 in the next over off debutant spinner Usman Tariq. Matthew Breetzke came and went, bowled by Nawaz for 1, bringing skipper Donovan Ferreira to the wicket with his side tottering on the edge of another humiliating defeat.  

A huge Ferreira six off Tariq helped the Proteas to 56 after the 10th over with four of the top five batters already back in the shed. The big-hitting skipper then targeted Nawaz, smashing two sixes and a four off the 11th over, racing to 29 off 13 balls with Hendricks playing the anchor role. But SA suffered another double blow when Ferreira lofted a slower Ashraf ball straight to midwicket, before allrounder George Linde was also caught off the next ball to leave the Proteas deep in the mire at 76/6 in the 12th over. 

After Hendricks (34) fell to Tariq (2/26), caught on the square-leg boundary, it was once again left to the South African lower order to get them to a half-decent total of 139, thanks in large part to allrounder Corbin Bosch’s 30 off 22 balls that included two fours.

SA started with the spin of skipper Ferreira, but it was Bosch who made the early breakthrough, the speedster dismissing the dangerous Saim Ayub for a duck in the second over, a mistimed drive finding Ferreira at mid-on. 

The hosts seemed to be coasting, until spinner Ferreira snagged the wicket of Sahibzada Farhan (19), caught at deep midwicket by Breetzke to leave Pakistan 44/2 in the seventh over. Fellow spinner Linde (0/20) did well to keep the pressure on the Pakistan batters. 

Babar Azam showed all his experience in keeping the scoreboard ticking over for the home team, however, accelerating after they had reached 64/2 at the halfway stage of the innings. His partnership with skipper Salman Agha – who was caught for 33 off the bowling of Lizaad Williams in the 16th over – also helped seal the emphatic victory for Pakistan. 

They reached 140/6 in the 19th over, surviving a late scare when three wickets fell, including the prized scalp of Azam – caught by Hendricks off the bowling of Bosch for 68 off 47 deliveries. Williams also picked up the scalp of Hasan Nawaz, while Andile Simelane bowled Mohammad Nawaz.

Scores

South Africa: 139 (Hendricks 34 (36); Shaheen Afridi 3/26).

Pakistan: 140 (Babar Azam 68; Corbin Bosch 2/24).