Pakistan beat South Africa in 3rd T20I, win series: Stats
What's the story
Pakistan's bowlers put on a stellar show in the third and final T20I against South Africa, restricting the visitors to a mere 139 runs at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium. Shaheen Afridi was the star of the show, claiming two wickets in his first over. He dismissed Quinton de Kock and Lhuan-dre Pretorius. The left-arm pacer finished with three wickets. In response, Pakistan rode of Babar Azam's 68 to win by 4 wickets and seal the series 2-1.
Match dynamics
South African batters struggle against Pakistan's bowling attack
The early wickets put the South African batsmen on the back foot, making it difficult for them to get going. Reeza Hendricks was the top scorer with 34 runs, while Corbin Bosch and captain Donovan Ferreira contributed 30 and 29 runs respectively. However, none of them could accelerate the innings due to Pakistan's disciplined bowling attack.
Bowling performance
Afridi, Tariq and Ashraf shine with the ball
Along with Afridi, debutant spinner Usman Tariq and Faheem Ashraf also shone with the ball, picking up two wickets each. Mohammad Nawaz and Salman Mirza chipped in with one wicket each to help Pakistan restrict South Africa to a modest total. The disciplined bowling from the hosts was instrumental in keeping the Proteas's innings in check throughout the match.
Match update
Pakistan ride on Babar's 68
In response to South Africa's total, Pakistan were 69/2 after 10 overs with Babar and Salman Agha at the crease. The two continued to put on crucial runs before Agha departed for 33. Pakistan were 120/3 with his dismissal. Soon after Agha perished, Babar was sent back by Corbin Bosch with Pakistan reeling at 125/4. They also lost two more wickets and were 134/6. Usman Khan and Faheem Ashraf saw out the game.
Afridi
Afridi races to 122 wickets in T20Is
Playing his 94th T20I, Afridi (3/26) raced to 122 scalps at an average of 21.54. As per ESPNcricinfo, he has amassed 17 wickets from 14 matches against the Proteas at 24.11. Meanwhile, 28 of his 122 T20I wickets have come in Pakistan at 19.46. Overall in T20s, Afridi has bagged a total of 330 scalps from 237 matches at 20.84.
Information
8th T20I duck for de Kock
Across three T20Is, Afridi has now dismissed veteran SA batter de Kock twice. The batter owns 10 runs from 13 matches in this duel. Overall, de Kock registered his 8th T20I duck.
Babar
Babar smashes his 37th fifty in T20Is
Babar's 68 was laced with 9 fours. He faced 47 balls. In 131 T20Is, Babar has raced to 4,302 runs at 39.83. This was his 37th T20I fifty (100s: 3). Versus South Africa, Babar now owns 526 runs from 16 matches at 35.06. This was his 3rd fifty against SA. He owns 1 ton. Overall in T20s, Babar has amassed 11.409 runs from 323 matches. He hit his 94th T20 fifty (100s: 11).