South Africa tour of Pakistan 2021 News

The Pakistani team defeated a young but talented South African side, only just by three runs, to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore. The Babar Azam led side would now be looking to get over with the series by winning the next game and securing an unassailable 2-0 lead. On the other hand, Heinrich Klassen’s men would like to take one more step and finish the game this time around to push the series into the decider on Sunday. The last match went down to the wire unexpectedly in a way that the South African team wasn’t backed to deliver the goods that it did with both bat and ball. Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan was the hero of the match, hitting an amazing hundred and taking the game away from the Rainbow nation. However, the likes of Tabrez Shamsi and Bjorn Fortuin tried to pull things back. In the chase too the South African young guns in Janneman Malan and Reeza Hendricks did well to give the team a great start. Usman Qadir, the Pakistan debutant spinner was equally good and brought the team back in the game. His brilliant spell was followed well by the pacers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf. Although Pakistan finally got the victory, in no respect the young South African were an easy pushover. It is this fighting spirit of their that gives hope for another cracking game at the Gadaffi Stadium on 13th February. Pakistan vs South Africa: Match Details Match Number-2 Date and Time: Feb 13, 2021, 6:30:00 PM IST, 06:00 PM Local, 01: 00 pm GMT Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony Ten and Sony LIV Players to look out for Pakistan Mohammed Rizwan: Having become the first Pakistani and only the second wicketkeeper in the world to hit a century in all formats of the game, Rizwan would be brimming with confidence in this game. He displayed a huge range of shots to satisfy the coach and team management that promoting him to open was a great decision. Usman Qadir: Slower through the air, deceptive in his flight and with a high percentage of dot balls in his kitty from his debut game, Qadir promises to be a great prospect. Probably taking a cue from the legendary leg spinner Abdul Qadir, with whom he shares the surname, Qadir is working up the ladder and could be a bright prospect for future, even in longer formats. Strongest XI Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Haider Ali, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Qadir, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf South Africa Reeza Hendricks: A perfect fit for the T20 format, Hedricks has shown a lot of potential in the 26 games that he has played so far. But it seems that now is the time he starts cashing in that potential with some match-winning knocks. His 54 in the last innings was a good anchor inning, but the team would be expecting more from him, especially in the prevailing situation where he is one of the senior pros in the side. Tabrez Shamsi: Shamsi, one of those bowlers who would give a wicket every match no matter what has now turned effective by being economical in the middle overs as well. It is spells like his last one (1-20 in 4 overs) that give other bowlers to try different things to pick wickets, even if it costs some runs. Strongest XI Janneman Malan, Reeza Hendricks, Jacques Snyman, Heinrich Klaasen (c & wk), David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin, George Linde, Lutho Sipamla, Tabraiz Shamsi Pitch Report The pitch in the first match was typical Lahore wicket and even after a lot of dew, offered something for the spinners even in the second innings, if they bowled slower through the air. Expecting swing in the first innings would be too much, but the fast bowlers can hope that the ball would skid on. In such a situation, they would look to vary the pace and keep the batsmen guessing. For batsmen, it’s as good as it gets as they get true value for their shots. Weather and Report It is going to be chilly in the evening as expected in the northern parts of the Sub-Continent at this time of the year. The clouds would keep on passing, maybe in a failed attempt to curtail the amount of dew, because the dew would be a permanent phenomenon in the evening. There is no doubt that the effect of the dew would be felt more in the evening. Thus the skipper winning the toss would choose to bowl first.

South African left-arm orthodox spinner George Linde has picked up the first five-wicket haul in Test cricket as South Africa dismissed Pakistan for 298 in the second innings to set up a target of 370 for themselves at the Pindi Stadium in Rawalpindi. Linde, 29, who is playing only his third Test, had got injured in the first innings as a Babar Azam straight drive hit him on his fingers in the follow-through. There were visible red spots on his whites and Linde rushed to the dressing room. "I started running off when I saw a bone sticking out and I just popped it in myself," he said. But to his surprise, his finger was not broken. "I went for X-rays and for some reason my finger wasn't broken. I was quite happy with that," added the Capetown born. Although he could only bowl 5.5 overs in the first innings, the left-hander contributed with the bat by scoring 21 runs in South Africa’s first innings. "I always say you never know when you will get another opportunity to play for your country. It's not going to get me down, because it's just pain,” Linde explained his decision of being part of the game It was in the Pakistani second innings that he actually pulled out a brilliant performance, finishing with the figures of 5-64 in his 26 overs. Sying that his injury is nothing compared to all the misery that people are going through, Linde exemplified team spirit. “There are people who are sick at home, people who are losing their jobs, people who are dying from Covid or other diseases or something. My injury is nothing compared to that," he said. On being asked about whether the little finger causing any hurdle to him to while bowling, he said, "I had to make a small adjustment with the grip. I didn't even know I use my pinkie (little finger) when I bowl. It's weird because every time I bowl, I have to first lift it up a little bit to get a better grip.” With 243 runs still needed for South Africa going into the last day at Rawalpindi, Linde's ability to handle the bat is going to come handy for the Proteas in levelling the series. Pakistan have won the first Test and have an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

Ramiz Raja has slammed all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez for giving priority to T10 league.

Tamil Nadu reached the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy by defeating Rajasthan in the semi-finals by seven wickets, while in Australia, the Brisbane Heat knocked the Adelaide Strikers out of the Big Bash competition by handing a big defeat in the eliminator. Here are the big news of the cricketing world that deserve your attention today Tamil Nadu defeat Rajasthan to reach SMAT final Tamil Nadu defeated Rajasthan by seven wickets in the first semifinal and booked a place in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy 2021. Arun Karthik and Dinesh Karthik made light work of the chase of 155 runs after Tamil Nadu were jolted early with the new ball. Arun Karthik remained unbeaten on a 54-ball-89 while Dinesh Karthik provided a finishing touch as Rajasthan got knocked out of the competitions. Batting first, Rajasthan could muster only 154 as the right arm pacer M Mohammed scalped four wickets to derail the batting efforts by the team from northern India. Heat knock Strikes out of Big Bash 2020-21 The batting trio of Joe Denly, Joe Burns, and Jimmy Pierson batted with assurance to hand the Brisbane Heat a place in the second qualifier of the Big Bash League this year. Chasing a paltry score of 131 runs, the Heat batsmen had to assure they didn't lose wickets, and the trio kept the team in the hunt by batting with control. Earlier in the day, the leg-spinning duo of Mitchell Swepson and Marnus Labuschange clogged the Adelaide Strikers on the night of Eliminator as the men in blue could not manage to get back the momentum of the game in their favour. Nauman Ali, Yasir Shah power Pakistan to 1-0 in Karachi Pakistan defeated South Africa by seven wickets in the first Test in Karachi and took an unassailable 1-0 lead over the Proteas in the two-match Test series. Chasing a small target of 88 runs, Pakistan were off to a bad start but Babar Azam and Azhar Ali guided the team home. Fawad Alam who had scored a splendid century in the first innings to help Pakistan take the lead was adjudged man of the match. Earlier, spinners Nauman Ali and Yasir Shah made a mess of the South Africa batting line up and while the left-arm spinner finished with a fifer, leg spinner Yasir took a four-wicket haul. ICC announces match officials for India-England Test series The ICC has announced the list of match officials who will be officiating the first two Tests between India and England in Chennai. Due to covid-19 pandemic, ICC has decided to go in with the Indian umpires who are on the ICC international panel of umpires and it will give the opportunity to Nitin Menon, Virender Sharma, and Anil Chaudhary to debut in a Test match as on-field umpires. Former Indian pacer Javagal Srinath will be the match referee for the whole of the series.

Pakistan have defeated South Africa by seven wickets in the first Test of the series in Karachi. Chasing a small target of 87 runs, Pakistan were jolted early by Anrich Nortje who took the wickets of both openers Imran Butt and Abid Ali, but Babar Azam and Azhar Ali steadied the ship. Fawad Alam was adjudged Man of the Match for his splendid 109 in the first innings that guided Pakistan towards the position of ascendancy and fittingly he hit the winning runs on the fourth day of the Test. Earlier in the day, South Africa were off to a horrible start with the nightwatchman Keshav Maharaj and captain Quinton de Kock going fairly early in the first session. Left-arm spinner George Linde provided a bit of resistance to the batting line up as he and Temva Bavuma resurrected the innings with a 42 run partnership. Once, Linde was dismissed was left-arm spinner Nauman Ali, end was nigh for the visitors as the 32-year-old ran riots against the lower order batsmen. Nauman Ali finished with a figure of 55/5 followed by a four-wicket haul by leg spinner Yasir Shah as the Proteas could not capitalise on the strong platform laid out by the top order batsmen and folded out at 245 in the second innings. The second and the final Test of the series will be played in Rawalpindi starting February 04.

All members of the England cricket team who have arrived in India for a four-match Test series starting February 05 have tested negative for the Covid-19 tests while Pakistan and South Africa fought well in Karachi to keep the first Test of the series in balance. Here are the important news from the cricketing world that deserves your attention England squad members test Covid-19 negative All members of the English touring contingent have returned negative for the Covid-19 testing upon their arrival in Chennai, IANs reported. The tourists will play two Tests at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, followed by the final two of the series scheduled to take place at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. Read the full story here Tom Banton pondering opting out of IPL 2021 English explosive batsman Tom Banton is pondering opting out of the Indian Premier League this year as he is going for more and more game time on the field while the four overseas players rule has affected his chances in making the fist playing XI of the sides. In the last season of IPL, Banton represented the Kolkata Knight Riders, but could feature in only two games, and scored 18 runs. “Growing up as a kid the IPL was a tournament that I absolutely loved watching. But I feel like I'm at a stage now where I need to be playing cricket instead of sitting on the bench," Tom Banton told Sky sports. Read the full story here Rishabh Pant searching new house in Delhi-NCR Rishabh Pant is searching for a new house for himself as the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman announced on his Twitter timeline that his family members are urging him to buy a new house for the family. He suggested ‘Gurgaon’ as one of the locations in his mind, and asked his followers to suggest more options to him. Read the full story here Sourav Ganguly’s health update The health conditions of the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly is stable and the doctors attending him have said that the decision on stent insertion will be taken only after conducting several rounds of tests to assess various health parameters. “Mr Ganguly slept well all night. He had a light breakfast this morning. A series of tests will be conducted on him today to decide on the next course of treatment,” the senior doctor, part of the panel attending to Ganguly said. Read the full story here Markram, van der Dussen lead Proteas’ fightback in Karachi Test The top-order batsmen of South Africa have brought the team back in the opening Test of the series at the National Stadium in Karachi. Trailing by 158 runs, Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram provided a decent start before Rassie van der Dussen joined hands with Markram to lead Proteas fightback on the third day. As the end of the play neared, the spinning pair of Nauman Ali and Yasir Shah, stuck big wickets of Markram, Faf du Plessis and van der Dussen to keep the game in the balance. At the end of the third day’s play, South Africa were 187/4 and secured a lead of 29 runs going into the day four of the Test. Earlier, a flourish from the lower order batsmen carried Pakistan to a big lead of 158 runs while Kagiso Rabada reached the milestone of 200 Test wickets in his 44th Test. Check full scorecard