END OF OVER:20 | 15 Runs | PAK: 144/7 | RR: 7.20
- Faheem Ashraf30 (12b)
- Usman Qadir4 (4b)
- Andile Phehlukwayo3-0-31-1
- Dwaine Pretorius4-0-17-5
7.38 pm Faheem's innings has given Pakistan a glimmer of hope. But South Africa overwhelming favorites thanks to the five-wicket haul from Pretorius. Pakistan had a promising platform laid by Rizwan but Haider, Talat, Iftikhar and Khushdil all had strike rates under a run a ball in their innings, eating up 57 of the 120 legal deliveries to score below 100 in the process. Khushdil's knock had the most debilitating effect on the innings because he kept Rizwan off strike for nearly 10 minutes after he had just raised his half-century, only to get out on the first shot he played once he got back on strike. Credit goes to the spin tandem of Smuts and Shamsi for making that happen by building pressure before Rizwan holed out to Pretorius as part of the best ever figures taken by a South African in T20Is. Stay with us for the start of the chase coming up shortly to see if South Africa can level the series before tomorrow's finale.
Here's Dwaine Pretorius: "I'm very proud. I've been working quite hard but I'm just happy to contribute today and hopefully we can get over the line. A few change-ups, a few changes in length. Just trying to make the guys guess what line and what length I'm going to go with every ball. As a team we felt we played very good cricket in the previous game, maybe let it slip in three to four overs. We just told ourselves to have good body language, keep our energy up and be ready for the big moments."
Pretorius' 5 for 17 is also the best ever figures by anyone v Pakistan in T20Is. Previous was Tim Southee's 5 for 18.
END OF OVER:19 | 3 Runs 2 Wkts | PAK: 129/7 | RR: 6.78
- Usman Qadir2 (2b)
- Faheem Ashraf17 (8b)
- Dwaine Pretorius4-0-17-5
- Lutho Sipamla3-0-29-0
Pretorius not able to get a sixth with a chance to work on the tail, but a marvelous spell regardless and the best ever by a South African in T20Is. Bests Ryan McLaren's 5 for 19 several years ago.
Mohammad Nawaz (3) b Pretorius 0 (2m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Khushdil Shah c †Klaasen b Pretorius 15 (21m 18b 2x4 0x6) SR: 83.33
END OF OVER:18 | 15 Runs | PAK: 126/5 | RR: 7.00
- Khushdil Shah15 (17b)
- Faheem Ashraf16 (7b)
- Lutho Sipamla3-0-29-0
- Andile Phehlukwayo2-0-16-1
Sipamla back around the stumps.
END OF OVER:17 | 12 Runs | PAK: 111/5 | RR: 6.52
- Faheem Ashraf11 (5b)
- Khushdil Shah6 (13b)
- Andile Phehlukwayo2-0-16-1
- Dwaine Pretorius3-0-14-3
Fahad: "Please remember Rahul Tewatia before bashing khushdil :p". We've found the lone Pakistani optimist in the comment feedback.