After winning the ODI series 2-1, Pakistan clashed with South Africa for yet another nail-biting encounter in the first T20I at The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.
The T20I toss was won by the hosts, who decided to bat first. The relatively inexperienced African team relied on their two best players, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen. Their respective half-centuries propelled the Proteas to post a mammoth total of 188 onboard in their allotted quota of 50 overs.
While the opener Markram scored 51 runs off 32 balls, Klaasen played an explosive knock of 50 runs off 28 balls, including two fours and four sixes.
In reply, Pakistan chased down the total in the penultimate ball of the last over. Mohammad Rizwan, the right-handed opener, took charge of the innings, scoring a blistering 50-ball 74 and helping Pakistan cross the finish line.
But the thriller was rich in hilarious moments, too, providing a dose of entertainment. Tabraiz Shamsi, the only spinner in the South African side, dazzled everyone with his bowling.
The 31-year-old picked up two prized scalps of Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez. His enthusiastic celebration was also a treat to watch. When the Johannesburg-born lad dismissed Zaman, he took out his shoe and started pretending to make a phone call.
Here’s the video:
Hafeez gone for 13 in his 100th T20I and Shamsi wrote another wicket on his shoe. This guy is alrwady pissing me off. Fitte mun Hafeez tere te ???#PAKvSA pic.twitter.com/PW6uBybf7G
— Daniyal Mirza (@Danitweets__) April 10, 2021
Earlier, after dismissing the Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan in the 3rd T20I between India and South Africa last year, Rassi Van Der Dussen had revealed that the unorthodox left-arm spinner admires his idol Imran Tahir and pretends to make a phone call to the veteran whenever he picks up a wicket.
“Yeah Shamsi always phones to Immy (Imran Tahir). Immy is obviously one of his heroes, and they work together a lot. So it was a nice moment for Shamsi to take a big wicket of Dhawan like Immy for us,” the Pretoria-born cricketer said.
However, hilariousness followed when Shamsi dismissed Hafeez in the 14th over. It was then that his teammate Pite Van Biljon decided to have fun and hid the former’s shoe beneath his t-shirt, leaving everyone in splits. Even the commentators shared a rib-tickling moment on the incident.
— 2 Slips and a Gully (@srikar_st) April 11, 2021