Shaheen Shah Afridi and Babar Azam starred in Pakistan’s series-clinching four-wicket win over the Proteas in the third T20I on Saturday.
Shaheen took 3-26 to restrict South Africa to 139-9 before Azam’s 47-ball 68 helped Pakistan cross the target in 19 overs for a 2-1 series win in Lahore.
The Proteas won the first match by 55 runs in Rawalpindi while Pakistan took the second by nine wickets, also in Lahore.
A full house of 32,000 at Gaddafi Stadium cheered the home boy Azam when he cracked three successive boundaries off Ottneil Baartman to reach 37th half century – his first after 13 T20I innings.
Azam and Salman Agha (33) lifted Pakistan during a solid 76-run stand for the third wicket after Saim Ayub (nought) and Sahibzada Farhan (19) fell by seventh over.
Azam smashed nine boundaries but his dismissal to pacer Corbin Bosch put Pakistan in a spot of bother with Hasan Nawaz (five) and Mohammad Nawaz (nought) falling in quick succession. But Usman Khan hit the winning single.
“I am happy at the come from behind series win,” said captain Agha. “We were 1-0 down so it was a great effort by the players to win the next two.”
Proteas skipper Donovan Ferreira rued batting failure.
“We lost wickets in cluster and didn’t score much but credit to the bowlers to keep it tight,” he said. “It was a great learning for us.”
South Africa, sent in to bat, slipped to two down without a run as Shaheen dismissed Quinton de Kock and Luhan-dre Pretorius – both without scoring – off the second and third ball of the match.
It became three down without a run, but Dewald Brevis overturned a lbw decision off the fifth ball.
The reprieve helped him add 38 for the third wicket with Reeza Hendricks to revive the innings, before debutant Usman Tariq broke the stand, getting Brevis caught off his second ball.
Brevis hit two sixes in his 22-ball 21.
Hendricks and Ferreira (14-ball 29 with three sixes) added 34 for the fifth wicket.
Hendricks, top-scorer with a 36-ball 34 with two boundaries, holed out in the 15th over off Tariq who finished with 2-26.
It was left to Bosch to help South Africa reach a fighting total with 30*.
Photo: PCB
