4th T20I: Pakistan beat South Africa by 3 wickets in last-over thriller, win series 3-1

Pakistan defeated South Africa by three wickets in a last-over thriller, to clinch the fourth match T20I series by a 3-1 margin. Mohammad Nawaz (25*) was the hero for the Asian side, helping them emerge victorious in a tense scenario. A dramatic middle-order collapse saw Pakistan reduced to 115/6, having looked quite comfortable at 92/1 with a target of 145. With 16 runs needed off the final two overs, Nawaz took advantage of back-to-back no-balls by Sisanda Magala, smashing the free hit for a six. This reduced the equation to run a ball for the final over, with the all-rounder getting the chase done and dusted with a mighty six off the penultimate delivery.

Pakistan finished the tour with both ODI and T20I trophies in their bag.

How The Match Unravelled

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and elected to field. Early in the innings, South Africa lost the in-form Aiden Markram, who had previously scored three consecutive half-centuries in the series. Despite going for plenty initially, Nawaz trapped Markram (11) leg-before as the Hawkeye confirmed the ball clipped the top of leg-stump.

Janneman Malan was then replaced in the middle by Rassie van der Dussen. The pair put on 57 runs for the second wicket, which was eventually broken by Shaheen Afridi. Der Dussen recorded a clinical half-century, scoring 52 runs off 36 balls, but he was dismissed by Haris Rauf after dragging the ball across to deep mid-wicket.

Faheem Ashraf was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, with his bowling figures of 3/17 a showcase of regulated medium pace bowling at a venue where bowlers don’t get much service. The lower middle order of South Africa imploded as the Pakistan bowlers made a comeback in the game by not allowing any of the batters to score in double figures. In 19.3 overs, the hosts were bowled out for 144 runs.

In reply, Pakistan got off to a rocky start in their pursuit. In the first over, Mohammad Rizwan was stumped down the leg side and was out for a duck. The visitors took control of the game thanks to a 91-run partnership between Babar Azam (24) and Fakhar Zaman, with Zaman scoring the majority of the runs.

As Lizaad Williams was brought into the attack, their strong defence came to an end. In the same over, he took the wickets of both set batsmen. Even though the chase seemed simple at first, there were still some surprises in store. Pakistan stuttered as the middle order failed to take off, resulting in a collapse. With a boundary draught, they went from 92/1 to 115/6.

Nawaz rose to the occasion in this scenario, helping Pakistan record a triumph.