A lacklustre batting display by Pakistan in combination with a polished South African performance saw the Proteas ease to a six-wicket win in the first Twenty20 International in Abu Dhabi.
Pakistan were always going to be short of runs after being bowled out for 119 as Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Johan Botha contributed three wickets apiece and, despite a early flutter in the chase, JP Duminy and Colin Ingram were on hand to see South Africa home to a comfortable victory.
On a decent batting surface Shahid Afridi won the toss and elected to set a total, with Johan Botha not too unhappy about bowling first with dew predicted to become a factor later in the evening.
The Pakistan innings got off to a very positive start thanks largely to Albie Morkel, who battled for control of the new ball, bowling four wides in conceding 14 runs from the opening over.
That horror 10-ball over gave Pakistan the early momentum but they were quickly pegged back by the impressive Tsotsobe (three for 16), who accounted for both Imran Farhat and Shahzaib Hasan in his opening burst.
With the run-rate dropping skipper Botha (three for 31) brought himself into the attack in the eigth over. The wily off-spinner made an immediate impact, accounting for Mohammad Hafeez, who, like so many of his fellow Pakistan batsmen, was guilty of hitting aerially straight down the throat of a Proteas fielder.
Enter Afridi, to the great delight of the Abu Dhabi crowd, who had clearly come specifically to see 'Boom Boom' with bat in hand. He didn't disappoint either, clubbing his very first delivery from Botha over long-on for six.
While the 'host' captain and the talented Umar Akmal were at the crease Pakistan were dangerous and very much in the running for a large total.
Two cleanly timed sixes in succession from Afridi then had the ground rocking, with the Pakistan captain intent on taking the attack to his opposite number. Botha, however, held his nerve and, tossing the next delivery up a little wider, had the last laugh, with Afridi skying to Tsotsobe.
The wicket was a massive blow and the rest of the Pakistan order crumbled in disappointing fashion, with no partnerships to speak of. Misbah-ul-Haq ended unbeaten for the home side on 27 but never looked comfortable at the crease in his return to international action as his side ended all out one ball short of their full allotment.
While the Pakistan batting display was well below par, the South Africans were professional with the ball and in the field. JP Duminy was responsible for a stunning catch over his right shoulder while on the run and David Miller struck with two direct-hits to bag himself a couple of run-outs.
In pursuit of the very modest target it looked to be plain sailing for South Africa as Saeed Ajmal allowed a ball to go through his legs for four in the first over of the innings.
However, a double strike from the flame thrower, Shoaib Ahktar, shortly afterwards sent a flutter throught the South African camp. Loots Bosman hit straight to point before AB de Villiers played on for a rare duck three balls later. Graeme Smith was next out as he backed away and was bowled by Mohammad Hafeez and, with South Africa at 18 for three, Pakistan suddenly had their tails up.
With the pressure on and some nervous looking faces on the Proteas bench, Colin Ingram joined Duminy in the middle and the two left-handers showed great composure as they crafted their way to a stand of 66, dealing with the guile of Ajmal and the pace of Akhtar and Umar Gul.
Duminy reached 41 before he fell to Ajmal but by then the game had been won and a cameo from David Miller along with a couple of confident blows from Ingram, who ended unbeaten on 46, saw South Africa home with 10 balls to spare.
The Proteas will be delighted with their performance, having jetted in to the UAE just the day before, while Pakistan will have to improve on their batting effort if they are to turn things around in the second Twenty20 International at the same venue on Wednesday.
Delivery of the Day
Pakistan gifted a number of their wickets away but Abdul Razzaq's was not one of those. The Pakistan all-rounder went to play with the turn from off-spinner Botha and was totally bamboozled by a delivery which pitched and straightened to take out his off-stump.
Shot of the Day
With South Africa needing 17 runs from the last three overs Afridi brought back his trump card, Akhtar, for one final fling. Ingram was in no mood to just see out the paceman's final over and instead went on the offensive, picking a slower ball and audaciously going down on one leg to power Akhtar over deep square-leg for six.
Defining Moment of the Day
Afridi is a huge crowd pleaser and is determined to play his way, and that is to swing hard at everything. However, one can't help but wonder how destructive he could be were he to stay at the crease a little longer by way of some choice shot selection.
The Pakistan captain had collected three sixes and a four in his 25, off just six balls, when he decided to launch into a third consecutive six off Botha. It proved a shot too many for Afridi when a nudge for one would have kept him at the crease alongside Akmal, with plenty of time to build a large total.
No comments:
Post a Comment