South Africa level series with easy win in second T20

South Africa opener Aiden Markram struck a brisk half-century as the hosts levelled the four-game T20 series against Pakistan with a commanding six-wicket win in the second match in Johannesburg yesterday.

Pakistan elected to bat, but some poor shot selection saw them restricted to 140-9, well below par on one of the best batting wickets in the country at the Wanderers.

South Africa were never troubled in their reply as they reached their target with 36 balls to spare. It was a comprehensive win for a side missing seven leading players who are either injured or have been released to play in the Indian Premier League.

Pakistan’s innings start badly when in-form opener Mohammad Rizwan danced down the wicket to left-arm spinner George Linde (3-23) off the very first ball and was caught at mid-off by Markram.

Captain Babar Azam (50 from 50 balls) and Mohammad Hafeez (32 from 23) were the only batsmen to put up a fight as seamer Lizaad Williams (3-35) and leg-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (1-22) kept a lid on the scoring.

Markram led the reply as he blasted 54 from 30 balls, with 46 of his runs in boundaries and sixes. Stand-in skipper Heinrich Klaasen (36 not out) added 49 in 3.4 overs with Linde (20 not out) to finish with a flourish. “Our execution was spot on. It was a 180190 [runs] wicket. I thought our bowlers bowled extremely well today,” Klaasen said.

It was a forgettable day for Sharjeel Khan, who returned from a ban for spot-fixing in 2017. His five-year ban was reduced by half on appeal.