South Africa win toss, elect to bat first against Pakistan in first T20I

DURBAN – South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first against Pakistan in the first T20 match at the Kingsmead Stadium.

The Pakistani team thoroughly prepared for the T20 series, with training sessions held at Kingsmead Stadium.

The match is set to begin today at 9:00pm Pakistan Standard Time.

National team captain Mohammad Rizwan expressed confidence in the team’s performance, drawing parallels with their successful campaigns in Australia and Zimbabwe.

He highlighted that while Pakistan’s new players are full of talent, overseas series always present a tough challenge.

All-rounder Salman Ali Agha has been left out of Pakistan’s playing XI for the first T20I.

Agha, who led Pakistan in the recently-concluded three-match away T20I series against Zimbabwe, managed to score just 45 runs in two innings, besides taking two wickets, and thus lost his spot in the team’s playing XI.

The recently unveiled lineup also marks the return of Pakistan’s established opening pair of star batter Babar Azam and white-ball skipper Mohammad Rizwan, while Saim Ayub has been demoted to bat at number three, with wicketkeeper batter Usman Khan to follow.

Pakistan’s playing XI: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem and Abrar Ahmed.