With his maiden T20I ton, Reeza Hendricks lifted South Africa to its first T20I bilateral series win since August 2022, as the Proteas celebrated a 7-wicket win in the second match against Pakistan at the SuperSport Park.
South Africa needed something special from its players after Pakistan hammered 206/5 on the board. With David Miller out of the fray, all eyes were on South Africa`s playing XI, contemplating who could rise to fill in his role.
The question remained unanswered until Hendricks walked in to decide the fate of the game. His exploits with the bat handed Rob Walter his first T20I series win since taking over the white-ball coaching role in March 2023.
After being invited to field first, the inexperienced South African line-up conceded the fifth-highest first-innings total at SuperSport Park, but they chased it down with three balls to spare.
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The spine of South Africa`s record-breaking chase was forged by the 157-run partnership between Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen.
While Hendricks went berserk and fired sixes for fun, Van der Dussen scored his seventh T20I half-century to make Pakistan`s star-studded bowling line-up look ordinary.
While chasing a testing total of 207, South Africa lost Ryan Rickelton (2) and Matthew Breetzke (12) in the powerplay. With the asking rate starting to mount up, Hendricks upped the ante and went about his business without breaking a sweat.
The duo navigated South Africa towards victory as Pakistan`s over-reliance on the slower deliveries started to hurt their cause. Hendricks eventually holed it to Irfan Khan towards the end before Dussen settled the series in style, smoking the ball into the stands.
Earlier in the match, Pakistan lost its skipper Mohammad Rizwan early forcing Babar Azam and Saim Ayub to go after the South African bowling unit.
The duo took Pakistan to 101/1 after 11 overs but South Africa found a way back into the mix, courtesy of debutant Dayyaan Galiem and spinner George Linde.
The duo bowled in tandem as Pakistan were reduced to 136/4 in 16 overs. Ayub and Irfan Khan combined to rack up 73 from 32 balls for the fifth wicket, propelling the visitors total to 206/5.
With an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, Pakistan and South Africa will face in the final match of the T20I-leg on Saturday.
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