Fast pitcher Dwaine Pretorius took a 5-17 record in South Africa’s six-pitch win over Pakistan in their second Twenty20 international game on Saturday.
Pretorius’s numbers were the best for a South African bowler at a T20 international and helped hold Pakistan down to 144-7 after Heinrich Klaasen again won the draw.
A 77-run partnership for the third 53-ball wicket between Reeza Hendricks (42) and Pite van Biljon (42) spelled Proteas’s clinical chase as the visitors reached 145-4 in 16.2 overs and ended their five-game losing streak. .
The third and final game is in Lahore on Sunday.
“We had good plans that we executed quite well,” said Pretorius. “I was just trying to mix my line and length to make sure the guys couldn’t line me up.”
Pakistan captain Babar Azam (5) saw a miserable run in the T20 series continue when Pretorius had him caught in the leg before wicket of his second ball.
Babar, who was scoreless in Pakistan’s three-run win in the first T20, played across the line for a delivery that got to the batter.
Spinners Tabraiz Shamsi (1-16) and Jon-Jon Smuts (0-20) restricted Pakistan in the middle overs with doll spinner Shami not conceding a single limit in his four overs.
“We couldn’t score enough runs in between and we couldn’t get the partnerships going,” Babar said. “It was a similar terrain to the first game, but we made some mistakes with the ball that cost us.”
Pakistan’s middle order battled both spinners and only Mohammad Rizwan, who scored his first T20I ton on Thursday, again showed promise with 51 of 41 balls.
Iftikhar Ahmed (20) and Rizwan tried to force the race pace, but both sank deep into Pretorius’s return spell.
The right arm pacemaker had Khushdil Shah (15) caught behind in his last over before launching Mohammad Nawaz for a duck from a brilliant yorker to improve Ryan McLaren’s previous record in South Africa of 5-19 against the West Indies in 2010 in Antigua.
Faheem Ashraf hit an undefeated 12-ball 30, which included two fours and two sixes.
Shaheen Afridi (2-18) provided Pakistan with two early advances, but both Hendricks and van Biljon dominated and the bowlers struggled to catch a wet ball.
Legspinner Usman Qadir was crushed by two fours and three sixes of his four overs to finish 1-43.
Hendricks hit three fours and three sixes before making the last over from Qadir.
Van Biljon, one of three changes South Africa made from the first game, followed in the next when left spinner Nawaz found the advantage.
David Miller (25 off) and Klaasen (17 off) finished the game with 22 balls to spare.
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