ABU DHABI, Oct 26 Paceman Lonwabo Tsotsobe and captain Johan Botha took three wickets apiece as South Africa's disciplined bowling backed by superb fielding restricted Pakistan to a paltry 119 in the first Twenty20 at Abu Dhabi Stadium here on Tuesday.

Left-arm paceman Tsotsobe removed both the openers during his economical spell of 3-16 while off-spinner Botha ripped through the middle order with 3-31 as Pakistan struggled to get past 100-run mark after deciding to bat on a batting-friendly Abu Dhabi Stadium pitch.

Recalled Misbah-ul-Haq topscored with an undefeated 32-ball 27 while skipper Shahid Afridi hit an aggressive 25 off just seven balls, hitting three sixes and a boundary before holing out to Botha in the tenth over.

Pakistan raced to 16 in the second over before Tsotsobe removed opener Imran Farhat (10) and then Shahzaib Hasan (nine) in the sixth over.

Botha removed Mohammad Hafeez (13), Afridi and Abdul Razzaq to end Pakistan's hopes of reaching a respectable total.

This is Pakistan's home series shifted to United Arab Emirates due to security fears.

The two teams play the second Twenty20 on Wednesday before playing the first two one-day internationals here at the same venue.

The series then move to Dubai where the last three one-day matches and the first Test will be staged. Abu Dhabi will host the second Test.

Scoreboard

Pakistan

Shahzaib Hasan c Duminy b Tsotsobe 9

Imran Farhat c Smith b Tsotsobe 10

Mohammad Hafeez c Ingram b Botha 13

Umar Akmal c Botha b A.Morkel 14

Shahid Afridi c Bosman b Botha 25

Misbah-ul-Haq not out 27

Abdul Razzaq b Botha 4

Zulqarnain Haider c Duminy b M. Morkel 1

Umar Gul c Smith b Tsotsobe 0

Saeed Ajmal run out 4

Shoaib Akhtar run out 3

EXTRAS (LB1-NB3-W5) 9

TOTAL (all out, 19.5 overs) 119

FALL of wkts 1-16, 2-38, 3-46, 4-75, 5-84, 6-90, 7-91, 8-92, 9-99.

BOWLING M. Morkel 4-0-28-1 (4w); Tsotsobe 4-0-16-3; A. Morkel 4-1-18-1 (3nb); Theron 3.5-0-25-0; Botha 4-0-31-3 (1w).

UMPIRES Asad Rauf, Ahsan Raza (both Pakistan).

TV UMPIRE Nadeem Ghouri (Pakistan).

MATCH REFEREE A. Pycroft (Zimbabwe).—Agencies

Opinion

Trouble at home

Trouble at home

The country’s strength lies in its political and economic stability, not in fleeting moments of diplomatic success.

Editorial

Pezeshkian’s visit
Updated 24 Jun, 2026

Pezeshkian’s visit

Perhaps a good place to start would be the resumption of work on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline.
Telecom bill
24 Jun, 2026

Telecom bill

THERE is now no question about it: the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) (Amendment) Bill of 2026 is a...
Updating Islamabad
24 Jun, 2026

Updating Islamabad

ISLAMABAD is growing rapidly. Its planning, however, remains stuck in bureaucratic limbo. Despite years of ...
Unsustainable growth
Updated 23 Jun, 2026

Unsustainable growth

CLICHÉS are an essential part of political rhetoric. But when repeated often, they lose their impact. So when...
Banned speeches
23 Jun, 2026

Banned speeches

NATIONAL Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Sunday formally lifted long-standing restrictions on the airing of ...
New GB government
23 Jun, 2026

New GB government

WITH the newly elected lawmakers of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly taking oath on Monday, the PPP looks set to head...