Durban: David Miller’s half-century helped South Africa set a target of 184 runs for Pakistan in the first T20I of the three-match series at Kingsmead Stadium on Tuesday.
Earlier, the Proteas won the toss and decided to bat first against the Grene Shirts in the opening match of the series to be played from December 10-14.
The home team got off to a poor start as they lost two wickets – Rassie van der Dussen (0) and Matthew Bretzke (eight) – within two with just 10 runs on the board.
After coming out to bat at number four, Miller was briefly partnered with opener Reza Hendricks in an 18-run partnership, which culminated in the fourth over with the latter being dismissed after scoring eight off nine.
After Hendricks’ departure, Miller switched gears and dominated the bowlers of the touring team with aggressive batting.
The left-handed batsman smashed eight fours and four fours on his way to top-scoring for South Africa with a quickfire 82 off just 40 deliveries.
David Miller was involved in two one-sided partnerships with skipper Heinrich Klaassen (12) and Donovan Ferreira (seven) before falling victim to Pakistan’s star bowler Shaheen, who returned match figures of 3/22 in four overs.
After his dismissal, South Africa lost two more wickets in quick succession and were later reduced to 141/8 in 16 overs.
However, all-rounder George Linde turned things around for South Africa with late fireworks, highlighted by his six-hitting six off Sofiane Muqeem in the final.
Linde remained an important contributor for South Africa as he scored a quick 48 off 24 deliveries, including three fours and four sixes, while Kwena Mafaka played a supporting role with an unbeaten 12 not out.
Along with Shaheen, Abrar Ahmed also took three wickets for Pakistan but was costly as he conceded 37 runs in four overs, while Abbas Afridi took two wickets for 30 runs in the same over. On the other hand, one resident was scalped.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more details.