All-rounder George Linde felt he owed South Africa something extra on Tuesday. He missed the team bus heading to Kingsmead for the Twenty20 against Pakistan and needed a police escort to recover. ‘It was a bit embarrassing,’ Linde said. ‘I felt I had to do something for the team today and I’m glad I did.’
He produced the best T20 performance of his career with bat and ball by hitting a 24-ball 48 and taking 4-21 to guide the Proteas to a thrilling 11-run victory.
After his first T20 since 2021, Linde said, ‘A dream comeback’. South Africa scored 183-9 and Pakistan chased until the last over but finished with 172-8.
Pakistan seemed to save wickets for a crazy finish. Opener Mohammad Rizwan’s steady but slow innings put pressure on his partners to hit hard.
Mostly they succeeded. Saim Ayub struck 31 runs off 15 balls and Tayyab Tahir 18 off 18 balls.
When Tahir departed, five overs remained and Rizwan woke up. In the 17th over, he struck Kwena Maphaka for six off long-on and long-off.
But in the 18th over, left-handed spinner Linde struck out three Pakistanis in four balls and thought he had ended the over with a hat-trick. But Haris Rauf’s review showed the ball missing the leg stump.
Rizwan struck three boundaries in the 19th over and went from 36 for 44 to 74 for 61. Pakistan reached the last over with the need for 19 runs.
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