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QUINTON DE KOCK continued his recent run of outstanding form to be named man of the match as the Blue Label Telecoms Proteas beat Pakistan by four runs on the D/L method in the first KFC T20 International match at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Wednesday evening.
De Kock set up the Proteas victory in a dynamic opening partnership of 72 off 49 balls with Hashim Amla after Pakistan had won the toss and opted to field first. De Kock contributed 43 off 33 balls (8 fours) while Amla made 31 off 20 balls (6 fours).
While the pair were at the crease a Proteas total in excess of 200 was well on the cards but, once they were dismissed, the Pakistan spinners grabbed control and in the end the Proteas had to scramble their way to 153/7 in their 20 overs.
Both Mohammed Hafeez (2/25) and Shahid Afridi (1/14) were outstanding in their respective spells of four overs as the Proteas innings almost ground to a halt between the 12th and 17th overs.
Pakistan were restricted to 40/1 in the six power play overs compared to the 60 without loss of the Proteas but they were nevertheless well on target to achieve their total.
The key moment came two overs before play was halted by rain after 9.1 overs when JP Duminy again showed his penchant for breaking important partnerships when he caught Nasir Jamshed off his own bowling.
It was this wicket that put the Pakistan total narrowly behind the D/L required score to win the match.
Nevertheless, it was Pakistan’s best performance in the three T20 Internationals they have played against the Proteas in the last couple of weeks and augurs well for the rest of their tour.
The second KFC T20 International will be played at Sahara Park Newlands on Friday evening (6pm start).
The Proteas made two changes from the side that finished the T20 series in the United Arab Emirates. JP Duminy returned in the place of AB de Villiers who was rested while Morne Morkel took the place of Ryan McLaren.
