South Africa 210 for 3 (Hendricks 117, van der Dussen 66*, Jahandad 2-40) batted Pakistan 206 for 5 (Ayub 98*, Azam 31, Irfan 30, Galiem 2-21) with five wickets

Pakistan were guilty of an over-reliance on the slower ball, which they sent down liberally, but that may not have been where they lost the game. Although they passed 200, they could have had many more. They were 103 for 1 after 11 overs and 136 for 4 after 16.

It was not enough thanks to Hendricks and van der Dussen, two older hands, who took South Africa home.

Dayyaan’s dream debut (and nightmare).

Galiem planned to be at this game, but not play in it. He had tickets to the hospitality suite and was supposed to sit with his domestic teammates and enjoy the start of the December holidays with a few drinks, but on his way home from the gym this week he got a call he never expected. Anrich Nortje had broken his left big toe, and Galiem was called up to the national team. He made a debut on his home ground and then delivered the new ball.

His first over cost just three runs. Exactly why he didn’t bowl another in the powerplay is for Klaasen to answer, but in that period he dropped Ayub for 3, which proved costly. He was brought back in the seventh over, and failed once at length with a short wide ball, but was taken off again. In his third spell, Galiem got his first international wicket when Usman Khan edged him to Kwena Maphaka at deep third, but his moment came in his last over. It was only the second he bowled in a row and Tayyab Tahir bowled an edge back to him and Galiem took a sharp catch. It wouldn’t have made up for his earlier miss, but it did give him good figures of 2 for 21 in four overs, with 12 dot balls, in his first international outing. But that was not the end of Galiem. He was long over when Ayub hit Donovan Ferreira almost straight at him. Galiem got into an awkward position and the ball burst out of his hands.

Sensational Saim, but he would have liked two more

Pakistan separated RizBar as they continue to experiment with their opening combination and Ayub has tried to continue in the role. He scored three runs off the first eight balls he faced before at one point he bowled a Ferreira delivery to debutant Galiem who could not hold on to the chance. The next ball Ayub faced, he muscled it over deep midwicket for six at the start of a spectacular takedown by Maphaka. The next two balls brought back-to-back boundaries before three dot balls ended the costliest innings of the Powerplay. The stroke sweep turned out to be a favorite shot of Ayub as he perfectly complemented Babar.

Ayub’s career-best, and also his first half-century in the format, came from 33 balls in the 11th over, so he had time and opportunity to double up. After Babar was dismissed, Ayub brought out more classic strokes like the square drive. He continued to take on Maphaka, hitting him for three sixes in his last over to stand on the brink of 90, with three overs remaining. In a cruel twist, Ayub faced just six balls in the last three overs, and none in the final over, and was left unbeaten on 98.

Jahandad’s double blow

Jahandad Khan was brought into the side in place of wrist-spinner Sufiyan Muqeem and showed what he can do almost immediately. His second delivery moved away from left-hander Ryan Rickelton, who couldn’t help but play on it with minimal foot movement and edged to Rizwan to end the opening partnership on 6. In his next over, Jahandad played with his lengths and speeds, delivered a slower ball and then and ended up with a short ball which Matthew Breetzke tried to pull but could only fire to mid on. Shaheen Shah Afridi took a simple catch to leave South Africa 28 for 2 after four overs.

One hundred for Hendricks

A day after being dropped from the ODI side to play Pakistan next week, and with questions swirling over his continued presence in the national squads, Hendricks silenced his critics by showing that he still has , what is needed at this level. He operated with a run-a-ball from the first 14 balls he faced and then tucked into a short Haris Rauf delivery to get him over fine leg for six before slotting a slower ball into the stands over deep square for six more. A third six saw South Africa end the powerplay at 52 for 2, seven runs ahead and a wicket more than Pakistan’s 45 for 1 at the same stage.

He went on to smash two more sixes, including one off Abbas Afridi, which brought up his fifty off 29 deliveries at the halfway mark. South Africa were 94 for 2; at the same stage, Pakistan were 90 for 1. Hendricks traded in boundaries and surged into the nineties with three more sixes and two fours before reaching three figures when he hit Rauf over midwicket. His hundred came from 54 balls and he finished with 117 off 63 balls, including seven fours and 10 sixes, leaving the South Africans on the brink of victory. When Hendricks was dismissed, they needed 21 runs off 14 balls, and got there from the 11th over.