South Africa look to bounce back after narrowest of defeats

OverviewSouth Africa vs Pakistan, 2nd T20I
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Monday, 12 April, 2:30pm local

South Africa pushed the in-form Pakistan all the way in the series opener, with the match hanging in the balance deep into the final over of the game.

It was a see-sawing encounter that South Africa seemed on course to win after a double-wicket over from Beuran Hendricks in the 16th left Pakistan five down and needing 13 runs an over to win.

Unfortunately for the hosts, the well set Mohammad Rizwan was still there and alongside the free-swinging Faheem Ashraf, he resuscitated Pakistan's hopes of victory before Hasan Ali hit the winning runs.

Despite the defeat, there were still positives for South Africa from Saturday's match that they will hope to build on in this four-match series.

Janneman Malan (24 off 16) and Aiden Markram (51 off 32) provided South Africa a bright start before Heinrich Klaasen (50 off 28) gave them plenty of impetus through the middle-overs.

Pakistan meanwhile will be hoping for improved performance with bat and ball. Three members of their all-star attack leaked more than 10 runs an over, while Rizwan badly lacked company until Ashraf chipped in with an important 30 off 14.

Look out for

Mohammad Rizwan: The wicket-keeper has been T20I cricket's in-form batsman in 2021 and South Africa must find a way to stop him if they are going to get back into this series. The opener is averaging 135.50 in T20Is this year. Across his past five innings in the format he has notched three half-centuries and one ton, with a lowest score in that time of 42.

**Aiden Markram:**A late call-up to the T20I squad, Markram impressed at the top of the order. Playing his third match in the format at the international level, he raced to his half-century in 30 balls. With a handful of T20I regulars unavailable for South Africa right now, Markram has the chance to nail down a spot in the XI.

Squads

South Africa
Heinrich Klaasen (c), Daryn Dupavillon, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, George Linde, Wihan Lubbe, Sisanda Magala, Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Andile Phehlukwayo, Migael Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lutho Sipamla, Pite van Biljon, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams

Pakistan
Babar Azam (c), Arshad Iqbal, Asif Ali, Danish Aziz, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sharjeel Khan, Usman Qadir, Zahid Mahmood