Paceman Lonwabo Tsotsobe and off-spinner Johan Botha took three wickets apiece to help South Africa beat Pakistan by six wickets in the first of two Twenty20 matches lats night
Paceman Lonwabo Tsotsobe and off-spinner Johan Botha took three wickets apiece to help South Africa beat Pakistan by six wickets in the first of two Twenty20 matches lats night.
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| South Africa's JP Duminy plays a shot through the on-side during their first Twenty20 match against Pakistan at the Abu Dhabi Cricket Stadium last night. pic/AFP |
Tsotsobe, with a career-best 3-16, and skipper Botha (3-31) led a spirited South African bowling to restrict Pakistan to a paltry 119 at the Abu Dhabi Stadium.
Jean-Paul Duminy hit an elegant 41 while Colin Ingram remained unbeaten with 46 as South Africa reached the target after losing three early wickets for 26.
The two left-handers shared a solid 66-run partnership for the fourth wicket after paceman Shoaib Akhtar gave Pakistan some hope with the quick wickets of opener Loots Bosman and AB de Villiers in the third over. Ingram hit two towering sixes and four boundaries during his 38-ball knock. Duminy hit five boundaries as the two dominated the Pakistan bowling which initially looked threatening.
Botha said he was happy to lead the series.
"It was a clinical performance and I am happy at the way the young guns stepped in after we lost three early wickets especially Ingram and Duminy," said Botha.
Duminy, who also took two beautiful catches, was declared Man-of-the-Match.
Earlier, Tsotsobe and off-spinner Botha bowled tightly to derail Pakistan, who won the toss and batted on a flat pitch.
Skipper Shahid Afridi hit a rapid seven-ball 25 before he became one of Botha's three victims. Pakistan had raced to 16 in the second over before Tsotsobe removed openers Imran Farhat (10) and Shahzaib Hasan (nine) in the sixth. Botha then removed Mohammad Hafeez (13), Afridi and Abdul Razzaq (four) to end Pakistan's hopes of reaching a respectable total.
