South Africa on Tuesday night defeated Pakistan by 55 runs in the first T20 of the three-match series.
Batting first at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, South Africa scored 194-9 in 20 overs. Reeza Hendricks led the innings with 60 runs while George Linde added 36 and Tony de Zorzi scored 33. Quinton de Kock, returning from retirement, scored 23 runs.
Captain Donovan Ferreira scored 10, Dewald Brevis 9, Corbin Bosch 7, Lizaad Williams 3 and Matthew Breetzke 1.
For Pakistan, Mohammad Nawaz took three wickets, Saim Ayub picked up two while Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah claimed one wicket each.
During the second innings, Pakistan were bowled out for 139 in 18.1 overs. Saim Ayub top-scored with 37 runs followed by Mohammad Nawaz with 36 and Sahibzada Farhan with 24. Usman Khan scored 12, Naseem Shah 9, Shaheen Shah Afridi 4, Hasan Nawaz 3, captain Agha Salman 2 and Faheem Ashraf 1.
Babar Azam, making his comeback, was dismissed for none.
Corbin Bosch led South Africa’s bowling attack with four wickets while George Linde claimed three. Lizaad Williams grabbed two wickets and Lungi Ngidi clinched one to complete a dominant win for the visitors.