Sydney: Shadab Khan’s attacking 52 off 22 balls helped Pakistan post 185 for nine against South Africa in the T20 World Cup match on Thursday. Apart from Shadab, Iftikhar Ahmed scored 51 runs in 35 balls and took charge of the innings when Pakistan were battling 43 for four in the seventh over.
Shadab completed 50 runs in 20 balls which included four sixes and three fours. Electing to bat after winning the toss, the Pakistan team again failed to make a good start in the current tournament, losing the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan in the very first over who was bowled by Wayne Parnell.
Mohammad Harris, who was included in the team in place of injured Fakhar Zaman, started trying to get the ball across the boundary line as soon as he arrived. He scored 28 runs in 11 balls with the help of three sixes and two fours. But he got out leg before off Enrich Norcia. Harris took a review but did not change the decision, which at one point reduced Pakistan’s score from 38 for one wicket to 43 for four in two overs.
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In-form Iftikhar joined hands with Mohammad Nawaz (28 runs in 22 balls) to take the innings in which the duo shared a 52-run stand for the fifth wicket. But left-arm wrist spinner Tabrez Shamsi broke this partnership by getting Nawaz out leg before. Nawaz got the ball across the boundary four times during his innings and hit a six.
Then Shadab came to the crease who started collecting runs as soon as he came together with Iftikhar. The duo shared a 36-ball 82-run partnership for the sixth wicket and helped the team reach the challenging target. For South Africa, Anrich Norkia took four wickets for 41 runs while Kagiso Rabada, Parnell, Lungi Ngidi and Shamsi took one wicket each. (agency)