Twitter Reactions: Pakistan fail to match South Africa’s intent, suffer 11-run defeat in first T20I

Twitter Reactions: Pakistan fail to match South Africa’s intent, suffer 11-run defeat in first T20I (Photo Source: ARCO LONGARI/AFP via Getty Images)

South Africa defeated Pakistan by 11 runs in the first T20I of the series in Durban. Batting first, the hosts had a rough start to the game as they were reduced to 28/3 at one stage. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Abrar Ahmed were sensational with the new ball and the Proteas were under pressure. That’s when David Miller took charge of the ship and smacked boundaries all across the park. Even though wickets were falling at the other end, the veteran batter didn’t change his approach, which was key.

Miller smacked 82 runs off 40 deliveries while George Linde played an equally important knock of 48 runs off 24 balls. In the absence of Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen was leading the side but the 33-year-old is currently going through a rough patch, which is slightly concerning. He made 12 runs off 13 deliveries before Abbas sent him back to the pavilion. Towards the fag end, teenage sensation Kwena Maphaka played a small cameo of 12 runs, which in the end proved vital.

Pakistan lost the wicket of Babar Azam in the third over while chasing 184 runs in the second innings. The star batter failed to open his tally and that’s heavily concerning. He seems to have lost his mojo and was dropped from the Test squad earlier in the year and if he fails to improve, the same can be applied in the white-ball formats as well. Batting at three, Saim Ayub showed glimpses of hope before departing for 31 runs off 15 deliveries.

Meanwhile, captain Mohammad Rizwan showed no intent early on and that’s arguably were Pakistan lost the game. His strike rate was below 100 even after playing 30 deliveries, which is not acceptable in modern-day T20I cricket, especially while chasing 184 runs against South Africa. He had very little support from the other end but the keeper-batter had to show more intent to get the job done. Ultimately, he made 74 runs off 62 deliveries, which was not enough as the visitors suffered a defeat in the first T20I.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Pakistan’s defeat:

There is no role for an anchor in T20Is. This mindset needs to change if Pakistan is to challenge the best teams #SAvPAK #Cricket

— MR.TRUE INFO (@MIqbalq) December 11, 2024

What If Miller Sold To RCB 7.25 Cr But Auctioneer Fair Warning against the Room, Last Chance 😔😔.

– RCB’s Love Story With South Africa Big Player 💔💔#Miller #SAvPAK #RCB #ViratKohli𓃵 #PAKvSA #SAvsPAK pic.twitter.com/vZqpgokTUA

— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 🜲 (@Iamlakshya_18) December 11, 2024

George Linde 48 off 24 run with bat and 4 over 21 run with 4 wkt with ball😱#SAvPAK #SAvsPAK

— Satyajit (@duary_satyajit) December 11, 2024

George Linde In A T20I Match Against Pakistan :-

– 48(24) With The Bat.
– 4/21 (4) With The Ball.

WHAT A PLAYER – INCRIDIBLE, GEORGE LINDE…!!!🔥👏#SAvPAK #PAKvsSA #PAKvSA #PakistanCricket pic.twitter.com/g3bStNFh2y

— 𝐈 𝐒how 𝐂ricket 🏏🇮🇳 (@ImGajananJoshi) December 11, 2024

TAKE A BOW, DAVID MILLER. 🙇‍♂️

– 82 (40) with 4 fours and 8 sixes against Pakistan. The lone warrior of South Africa tonight with no support from the other end. A clutch knock by the most clutch Proteas player in history. 👌#SAvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/iVBkW5jy9W

— Ranjeet singh (@Ranjeet_singh05) December 11, 2024

18-Year old Kwena Maphaka gets Babar Azam on duck. 🤯

– This is Maphaka’s 2nd Wicket in International Cricket.#SAvPAK #Pakistan #SAvsPAK #BabarAzam𓃵 #DavidMiller #Miller #PakistanCricket #Australia #AUSvsIND pic.twitter.com/8cxNPdLeIZ

— Monish (@Monish09cric) December 11, 2024

Congratulations #SouthAfrica for winning 1st T20I against #Pakistan by 11 runs 👍🏻👌 They will make it (3-0) 😜🤞 #PAKvSA #SAvPAK #PAKvsSA #GH10D

— Danish (@DanishKhemani) December 11, 2024

Dunya Umeed par qaim hai….
Hopefully, we can learn from our mistakes and not repeat them in the next match#PAKvsSA

— Junaid khan (@JunaidkhanREAL) December 10, 2024

Close but not good enough👎
Pakistan cricket team not learning from thre past mistakes.
Firstly letting South Africa to 180+from where they were in the game was unbelievable & then how we went to chase about this target was bizarre from beginning.
Too many dot balls & lack of…

— Ahmad Shahzad 🇵🇰 (@iamAhmadshahzad) December 10, 2024

“When India lost the second Test, some Pakistanis were overjoyed, making jokes and taking pleasure in mocking the Indians. Now that Pakistan has lost their first T20 match, I have a question for them.”

Question: Hun Aram Ay ? 🤣#PakistanCricket#SAvPAK

— Cricbaaz Harry (@Cricbaazharry) December 11, 2024

18-YEAR OLD KWENA MAPHAKA BOWLED 151.6 KPH vs PAKISTAN…!!!! 🤯

– The future of South Africa Cricket.#SAvPAK #SAvsPAK #PAKvSA #PAKvsSA #Pakistan #Miller #PakistanCricket #BabarAzam𓃵 #Rizwan #SouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/0NlxH0okP6

— Monish (@Monish09cric) December 11, 2024