DURBAN: George Linde played a quick-fire 48-run knock, followed by a four-wicket haul to steer South Africa to a thrilling victory in the first T20I against Pakistan here at Kingsmead on Tuesday.
Pakistan, while chasing a target of 184 runs, fell short by 11 runs as they were restricted to 172-8 in their allotted 20 overs.
The visiting side lost Babar Azam (0) early on before Saim Ayub scored a quick 31 off 15 balls with the help of seven boundaries.
Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan held on to one end, playing an anchoring knock of 74 runs from 62 balls, which featured five boundaries and three sixes, before falling in the last over.
Watch Pakistan vs South Africa Live on ARY ZAP
However, he could not find much support from the other end with Tayyab Tahir (18) being the only third batter to cross the double figures.
For South Africa, George Linde led the attack with his figure of 4-21, while Kwena Maphaka took two wickets. Ottneil Baartman and Andile Simelane also contributed with a wicket each.
Earlier, South Africa opted to bat first but failed to get the desired start as they soon found themselves struggling at 28-3.
David Miller then stitched a one-sided partnership of 43 runs with skipper Heinrich Klaasen (12) before Abbas Afridi broke the budding stand.
Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel
Miller continued his onslaught and smashed eight sixes on his way to a quick-fire 82 off 40 balls, which also featured four boundaries.
Shaheen Afridi removed Miller to leave South Africa reeling at 135-6 before George Linde waged a lone war to carry his team’s total to 183-9 in the allocated 20 overs.
Linde fell off the final ball of the innings after smashing 48 runs from 24 balls with the help of three boundaries and four sixes.
Shaheen and Abrar Ahmed led Pakistan’s bowling attack with three wickets each, while Abbas Afridi bagged two key wickets.
Pakistan Playing XI: Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
South Africa Playing XI: Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Mathew Breetzke, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen (c)(wk), Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Andile Simelane, Nqaba Peter, Kwena Maphaka, Ottneil Baartman
READ: Shaheen Afridi achieves major milestone in first T20I against South Africa