Follow UsAfter losing the first game of the series comprehensively against the visiting South Africa, Pakistan delivered a dominant performance in the second T20I of the series, clinching a nine-wicket win and levelling the series 1–1 at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore
The visitors were bundled out for a mere 110 runs in their 20-over innings. Left-arm pacer Salman Mirza, brought into the attack as a surprise inclusion in place of Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was rested to manage his workload, made an immediate impact by taking three wickets in the powerplay. That opened the way for Pakistan’s other bowlers to dismantle the South African batting line-up. That is exactly what Faheem Ashraf did as he followed Mirza’s good work with a four-wicket haul, which sealed the collapse.
Chasing the modest 111 target was a formality for Pakistan, but they did it in quick style. The openers began brilliantly, with Saim Ayub scoring 71 off 38 and his partner Sahibzada Farhan scoring 28 off 23. While the target was secured in just 13.1 overs for the loss of only one wicket, the biggest moment for the fans came when Babar Azam, batting at three after opening in the last game, went past Rohit Sharma’s run tally and became the batter with the most runs in T20I Cricket.
With one match completed each way, the series is now evenly poised at 1–1, setting up a decider on November 1 (Saturday).