CENTURION: Reeza Hendricks scored a blistering century and powered South Africa to a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the second T20I of the three-match series against Pakistan here at the SuperSport Park on Friday.
Set to chase 207, the home side knocked the winning runs through Rassie van der Dussen, who smashed a six off Abbas Afridi on the third delivery of the final over.
The hosts, however, had a shaky start to their innings as left-arm pacer Jahandad Khan dismissed Ryan Rickelton (two) and Matthew Breetzke (12) in his successive overs, reducing them to 28/2 in four overs.
Following the early blow, Rassie van der Dussen joined hands with Reeza Hendricks and together they raised a match-defining 157-run partnership for the third wicket.
The marathon stand eventually culminated in the 18th over when Abbas Afridi got rid of Hendricks.
The right-handed opener remained the top-scorer for the home side with 117 off 63 deliveries, hitting seven boundaries and 10 sixes.
For his match-winning knock, Hendricks was adjudged the player of the match.
Rassie van der Dussen then put together an unbeaten 25-run partnership with skipper Heinrich Klaasen (eight not out) and steered his side to a series-clinching victory.
He smashed three fours and five sixes on his way to an unbeaten 66 off 38 deliveries.
For Pakistan, Jahandad bagged two wickets, while Abbas struck once.
Opting to bat first, the green shirts accumulated 206/5 in the allotted 20 overs, thanks to an unbeaten blistering knock by Saim Ayub.
The touring side, however, got off to a shaky start to their innings as their white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan (11) fell victim to Ottneil Baartman in the fourth over with just 16 runs on the board.
Following the early hiccup, star batter Babar Azam joined hands with Saim and put Pakistan in command with an important partnership.
The duo added 87 runs for the second wicket off just 45 balls until Babar was dismissed by George Linde in the 12th over.
The right-handed batter made significant contribution with his 20-ball 31, laced with three fours and a six.
Pakistan then lost two more wickets in quick succession as Usman Khan (three) and Tayyab Tahir (six) perished cheaply, bringing the total down to 122/4 in 14.1 overs.
Saim was then involved in yet another crucial partnership for Pakistan when he added 73 runs for the fifth wicket with middle-order batter Muhammad Irfan Khan, who played a handy 30-run cameo from just 16 deliveries.
Irfan’s dismissal in the final over paved the way for Abbas Afridi, who added valuable runs at the death with a four-ball 11, while Saim remained stranded on 98 not out.
Saim Ayub top-scored for Pakistan with a 57-ball 98, which featured 11 fours and five sixes.
Dayyaan Galiem and Baartman bagged two wickets each for South Africa, while Linde chipped in with a wicket.
The seven-wicket victory helped South Africa clinch the three-match series 2-0 with a game to spare.
- Saim Ayub
