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South Africa tour of Pakistan 2021 News

Jan 26 to Feb 14

SA vs PAK 2021 News

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SOMYA KAPOOR ∙ 13 Feb 2021

Sarfaraz Ahmed takes a dig at Mohammad Hafeez

Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed has taken a dig at Mohammad Hafeez. Hafeez had appreciated Mohammad Rizwan for his T20I ton against South Africa in the first match in Lahore. “Congratulations @iMRizwanPak on scoring T20 Hundred. U r a Star shining star,” wrote Hafeez before adding: “Wonder how long u need to prove that u r NO1 wicketkeeper/Batsman in pakistan in all formats of the game. Just asking," wrote Hafeez in a tweet. Sarfaraz replied to this and wrote, “Hafeez bhai Sb, whoever has played for Pakistan from Imtiaz Ahmed, Wasim Bari, Tasleem Arif to Saleem Yousuf and from Moin Khan, Rashid Latif to Kamran Akmal and even Rizwan right now has always been number ONE for the country and have been respected accordingly.” Pakistan rode on some fine performance from Rizwan to win the first T20I. The hosts put 169/6 in 20 overs after batting first and then restricted South Africa to 166/6 to win the match by 3 runs. Reeza Hendricks scored 54 before getting runout while Janneman Malan was dismissed for 44. No other Proteas batsman was able to be among runs. Haris Rauf and Unman Qadir scalped a couple of wickets apiece while Faheem Ashraf picked up one wicket during the course. The two teams will not meet each other at the same venue for the second T20I scheduled to take place on Saturday. Pakistan earlier celebrated the return of Test cricket to with a clean sweep win in the two-match Test series.
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ABHISHEK SINGH ∙ 12 Feb 2021

Pakistan eye series win as young, energetic Proteas aim to draw level

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.
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ABHISHEK SINGH ∙ 7 Feb 2021

How George Linde bowled with a disfigured finger to scalp five wickets

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.
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MAYANK KUMAR ∙ 29 Jan 2021

Daily Round up | Jan 29: Tamil Nadu march to SMAT final, Heat knock Strikes out of BBL

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.