South Africa clinch series after thrilling finish in second T20I

JOHANNESBURG (AFP): South Africa beat Pakistan by seven runs in the second Twenty20 international at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday.

Earlier, South Africa set victory target of 189 runs for Pakistan in the second Twenty-20 International of the three-match series.

Stand-in captain David Miller hit an explosive half-century as South Africa made a strong finish to their innings in the second Twenty20 international against Pakistan at the Wanderers Stadium.

Miller slammed 65 not out off 29 balls to enable South Africa to post 188 for three in their 20 overs.

Captaining South Africa for the first time because Faf du Plessis was rested for the last two matches of the series, Miller went on the rampage in the closing overs after South Africa made a relatively sedate start on an unusually slow, dry Wanderers pitch.

Miller hit five sixes and four fours as South Africa scored 127 runs in the last ten overs of an innings which was interrupted for half an hour by a rain shower. The break came with South Africa on 140 for three after 17.1 overs and they added 48 runs off the remaining 17 balls of the innings.

New cap Janneman Malan and Reeza Hendricks put on 58 for the first wicket but used up 53 balls. Left-arm spinner Imad Wasim, who opened the bowling, took one for nine in four overs. He bowled a maiden to Malan and had the newcomer stumped after an otherwise promising innings of 33 off 31 balls.

Rassie van der Dussen hit four sixes in a quickfire innings of 45 off 27 balls to lift the scoring rate before Miller finished the innings with some ferocious hitting.

Left-arm fast bowler Usman Shinwari, whose first two balls were hit for six by Malan, conceded 63 runs off his four overs.

Pakistan won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat in the second Twenty20 international at the Wanderers Stadium.

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik said the possibility of rain had influenced his decision to field first despite having failed by six runs in a chase in the opening match in Cape Town on Friday.

Malik said left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi would replace Faheem Ashraf in the Pakistan team. “We were lacking the ability to strike early in the first game,” he said.

South Africa fielded two new caps in opening batsman Janneman Malan, 22, and fast bowler Lutho Sipamla, 20.

They replaced captain Faf du Plessis, who is being rested for the final two matches of the series, and batsman-wicketkeeper Gihahn Cloete.

“It will be nice to put a score on the board and put them under pressure,” said stand-in captain David Miller, who said South Africa were keen to clinch the three-match series with a game to spare.

Both captains noted that the pitch helped spin bowlers in a women s international match played earlier on the same surface.