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Pakistan's batsman Mohammad Rizwan plays a shot during the first T20 cricket match between South Africa and Pakistan at the Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 10, 2021 – AP
JOHANNESBURG, AFP: Mohammad Rizwan took inspiration from teammate Fakhar Zaman and steered Pakistan to their highest winning run chase as they beat South Africa by four wickets in the first Twenty20 international at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Rizwan made an unbeaten 74 as Pakistan chased down a target of 189 with one ball to spare. Their previous highest T20 chase was 188 against Australia in Harare in 2018.
Rizwan said the pitch was tricky at the start of the chase but he and captain Babar Azam got the side off to a quick start before Babar was out with the total on 41 in the fifth over.
He was then joined by Fakhar, who scored an astonishing 193 not out in the second one-day international on the same ground six days earlier.
Fakhar made 27 off 19 balls before he was caught on the boundary off left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who took two for 29.
But Rizwan said he modelled his innings on the way Fakhar played in the one-day game.
Rizwan, who scored only 42 runs in three innings in Pakistan’s 2-1 one-day series win, was back in the form which earned him man of the series awards in both Test and T20 series against South Africa in Pakistan earlier in the year.
He hit nine fours and two sixes.
The match swung in the last four overs of the two innings.
South Africa could score only 29 in their last four overs, while Pakistan thrashed 52 off the last 3.5 overs.
