South Africa aim to extend winning momentum against Pakistan

All the uproar of Babar Azam's return to the T20I side after 10 months turned into shellshock rapidly after the batter fell for a duck in his first game back, a game in which South Africa thoroughly outplayed the hosts Pakistan in Rawalpindi. But despite Babar's return grabbing all the headlines, South Africa were absolutely sensational in the series opener.

Quinton de Kock found some momentum in his innings after reversing his retirement, while Reeza Hendricks piled on a show with a nonchalant 60. Tony de Zorzi (on debut) and George Linde fired some quick runs as South Africa scored the joint-highest T20I total in Rawalpindi of 194/9 before bundling out Pakistan cheaply for 139. With the likes of Dewald Brevis and Donovan Ferreira missing out in the first game, the visitors look to have another gear or two to ascend to.

In contrast, Pakistan were outrightly poor. Four of their bowlers went at over 10 runs an over with the ball while the middle-order collapsed to the pace of Corbin Bosch and spin of Linde. The only positive in that game for them was the performance of Mohammad Nawaz and Saim Ayub, with both spinners bowling eight overs for just 57 runs and picked up five wickets amongst them.

As the series moves to Lahore, a city in which Pakistan have a 16:10 win-loss ratio in T20Is, the hosts will look to bounce back in an important clash as both teams look to get their combinations right with the Men's T20 World Cup approaching thick and fast.

When: October 31, 2025; 8pm Local Time (5pm SAT, 3pm GMT, 8.30am IST)

Where: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

What to expect: Perfect conditions for a game of T20 cricket with temperatures close to 25 degrees on a cool evening with some amount of humidity. Rain is not expected to play a part.

Team news:

Pakistan: With the hosts falling short in all three departments in the first T20I, Mohammad Wasim Jr. or Salman Mirza could come in for any of the fast bowlers. Abdul Samad too could come in for Hasan Nawaz after the failure of the middle-order.

Probable XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Salman Agha (capt), Hasan Nawaz/ Abdul Samad, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah/ Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed.

South Africa:

The tourists were clinical in the first T20I, and no changes are expected in the XI.

Probable XI: Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Donovan Ferreira (capt), Corbin Bosch, George Linde, Ottneil Baartman, Nqaba Peter, Lungi Ngidi.