JOHANNESBURG: Babar Azam hit a majestic 90 but Pakistan’s world-record run of 11 straight Twenty20 series victories came to an end as South Africa won by seven runs at the Wanderers on Sunday.
South Africa took a winning 2-0 lead in the three-match series and saw Pakistan slip to defeat in a bilateral T20 series for the first time in three years. Pakistan had not lost a T20 series since they were eliminated from the World T20 in India in March 2016.
Pakistan were on track to overhaul South Africa’s 188 for three until Babar was out off the first ball of the 17th over. It started a collapse in which six wickets fell for 34 runs in four overs.
The contrast between the two innings was stark. South Africa started slowly but stand-in captain David Miller plundered an unbeaten 65 off 29 balls as the hosts scored 127 runs off the last ten overs, including 29 off the final over bowled by Usman Shinwari.
Pakistan scored rapidly at the start of their innings, with Babar hitting the first three balls off Beuran Hendricks for four. It was 70 for one at the end of the six-over power play — 26 runs ahead of South Africa’s total at the same stage.
Azam and Hussain Talat (59) put on 102 off 75 balls for the second wicket.
“We had the game but we couldn’t finish it,” said Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik.
The tempo of the game changed when Babar pulled a slower ball from Beuran Hendricks to deep midwicket after hitting 13 fours and a six in a 58-ball innings.
Chris Morris took two wickets for South Africa in the penultimate over — both bowled — and Andile Phehlukwayo added two more in the last over.
“We didn’t start too well with the ball,” said Miller, who was named man-of-the-match. “We were too short and too wide but the bowlers pulled it back.”
Although neither took a wicket, Miller praised left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi and new fast bowler Lutho Sipamla for economical bowling in the middle overs before the late-innings collapse.