South Africa’s opener Reza Hendricks played a stunning knock, scoring a century that helped his team defeat Pakistan in the second T20 match, securing a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The match, held in Centurion, South Africa, saw Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan winning the toss and opting to bat first. However, Pakistan’s start was not ideal, with opener Mohammad Rizwan being dismissed for just 11 runs. Following him, Usman Khan was out for 3 runs, and Tayyab Tahir made only 6 runs before also being dismissed.
Amid the fall of wickets, Saem Ayub held firm at the crease and played an impressive innings. He narrowly missed out on a century, finishing on 98* not out. Babar Azam contributed 31 runs, while Irfan Khan scored 30, and Mohammad Abbas Afridi made 11 runs before getting out.
In the end, Pakistan posted a total of 206 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in their allotted 20 overs, setting South Africa a target of 207 runs to win.
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In response, South Africa lost their first two wickets for just 28 runs, with both dismissals coming from Pakistan’s Jhandad Khan. However, Reza Hendricks and middle-order batsman Rassie van der Dussen took charge, playing aggressive cricket to make the chase easier for the hosts.
Hendricks, who was named Man of the Match, completed his century off just 54 balls. He struck 10 sixes and 7 fours in his knock of 117 runs before being dismissed by Abbas Afridi. Van der Dussen also played a pivotal role, scoring a half-century, and helped South Africa reach the target in just 17.3 overs with three wickets down.
With this victory, South Africa now leads the series 2-0. The third and final T20 match will be played on December 14.
Pakistan made one change in their playing XI, with Jhandad Khan replacing Sufiyan Maqeem for the match.
The full Pakistani lineup included Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Saem Ayub, Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Jhandad Khan, and Abrar Ahmed.
South Africa had previously defeated Pakistan by 11 runs in the first T20 match, giving them a 1-0 lead in the series.
