Match Details

PAK vs SA, 3rd T20, SA vs PAK 2021 summary

PAK

169-6(18.4)

Pakistan won by 4 wickets

(20.0)164-8

Match info

Summary

Scorecard

Commentary

This is it from the comms box from us tonight for you folks. This is Vikhyat Jain taking your leave along with my friends, Abhishek and, Kingshuk. Bye Bye! Take Care! Stay Safe!

Babar Azam: Talking about the start, bowling was really good. Credit to Miller for his outstanding innings. Focus was on partnerships and take the game deep. Players coming through from domestic cricket. Our youngsters and those making a comeback are giving 100 percent. Plan was to utilise powerplay by promoting Haider Ali. Want to thank the crowd for backing us. Want to thank South Africa as well for coming here.

Mohammed Rizwan (Player of the Series): Never believed in form. I believe you get rewarded for your hard work. Before this, when I came lower down the order it was difficult for me.

Mohammed Nawaz (Player of the Match): Had a good domestic season, although it wasn't easy coming back into the team. Last two innings, the conditions were tougher than today. With the bat, the idea was to bat through and take the team home.

Heinrich Klaasen: Bitter pill to swallow. Started with my dismissal, I take full responsibility for that collapse. Not ideal, at least we fought back. Miller batted outstandingly and Shamsi was outstanding with four wickets. Good fightback with the bowling as well, at the end, not enough. It's (dew) not an excuse, we have trained. No excuse for the slippery ball. We have got all the equipment to make it dry. (Positives from the series) We are looking for a specific way of playing cricket. We got it right in the second game, bits and pieces in the first and this game. At least, we are going in the right direction. We need to keep fine tuning. In sub-continent conditions, good learning for the guys. Looking forward to see how these guys turn up in the domestic competition. They (Pakistan) have been incredible, the security was top-notch.

Presentations and final words right away!

In the end, a collective team effort is all you need in a winning cause and perfectly exhibited by Pakistan on the night of the finale.

Pakistan, in response were nicely placed in the chase by the openers who stitched a 50 plus run stand, where Rizwan did bulk of the scoring. Then came the magician, Tabraiz Shamsi into the attack and gave the Pakistani’s couple of blows back to back. But the Pakistani captain, Babar Azam played a gritty knock of 45 runs and was later outdone by Pretorious. That’s when the Africans started to sniff a victory but the lower middle order of Pakistan ensured that the team was safely home. Hasan Ali, with a couple of lusty blows off Andile Phehlukwayo in the second last over, stamped the victory for Pakistan. Apart from Tabraiz Shamshi, all the other bowlers looked a bit off-colour.

Pakistan won the toss earlier in the day and opted to field first and the bowlers proved their captain’s decision to be a right one. The bowlers kept bowling probing lengths and the South African batsmen kept succumbing to them. First the pacers nicely set up the tone and then the baton was passed to the two leg spinners, one of whom was playing his debut match, and they just choked the runs in the middle over and struck in quick successions. Wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals and the finale was heading towards a mundane end until David Miller took the guard. At one stage the Africans were reeling at 65/7 and their innings was heading towards a dead end. But then came the slaughter of Killer-Miller and we just went about his business. He single handedly steered the sinking ship of South Africa to the shore of a fighting total 164 runs, which surely seemed improbable after the end of first half. To pinch salt to the wounds of Pakistan, Miller amassed 25 runs in the last over. Miller went on to hit his first 50 in the last 13 innings for South Africa and scored an unbeaten of 85 runs. For Pakistan Zahid scalped 3 prized wickets whereas Nawaz and Hasan have 2 each against their name. T20 is a game of few overs and can be changed on its head in no time.

This will seal the show for Pakistan, quite comfortably at the end. Pakistan lifts the trophy going 2-1 up in a 3 match series. What seemed like a nail-biter until the second last over, turned out to be an easy affair for the Pakistani's, winning the match by 4 wickets with still 8 balls to spare. A special win for Pakistan as this is their 100th T20I win as well.