South African cricketer Reeza Hendricks has scored his maiden T20I century, achieving a major career milestone. Reeza Hendricks scored the century during the second T20I match between South Africa and Pakistan. The right-handed batter Reeza Hendricks brought up the three-figure mark off just 54 balls, playing some brilliant shots, including six fours and nine sixes. Reeza Hendricks ended up with 117 from 63 balls with 7 fours and 10 sixes as the Proteas chased down a 207-run target.
Reeza Hendricks’s innings played a key role in South Africa’s successful chase against Pakistan. Reeza Hendricks started off slow but quickly shifted gears, tearing apart the Pakistan bowling attack with his explosive batting. Reeza Hendricks shared a pivotal 157-run stand for the 3rd wicket alongside Rassie van der Dussen, who smashed an unbeaten 66. The Proteas managed 210/3 in 19.3 overs and have taken a 2-0 lead in the series.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch report: The settings are perfect for cricket. The square boundaries are 56m and 66m respectively. 80m down the ground. The track is on the drier side with a few cracks on it. There might be some dew later, will make batting easier in the second innings. The bounce is consistent at this venue. The ball tends to skid later in the evening. Spin might play some part, reckons Chris Morris.
Toss : Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and chose to bat with one change in the playing XI bringing in Jahandad Khan for Sufiyan Muqeem. South Africa skipper Heinrich Klassen bowling first made one change in the playing XI bringing in debutant Dayyaan Galiem for David Miller
Saim Ayub’s gritty 98 runs powers Pakistan to 206 for 5 in 20 overs
Galiem was planning to be at this match, but not playing in it. He had hospitality suite tickets and was due to be sitting with his domestic team-mates enjoying the start of the December holidays with some 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 squad. He was given a debut on his home ground and then handed 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 on 3, which proved costly. He was brought back on in the seventh over, and erred once in length with a short, wide ball but taken off again. In his third spell, Galiem got his first international wicket when Usman Khan top-edged him to Kwena Maphaka at deep third but his moment came in his final over.
It was only the second he bowled in succession and Tayyab Tahir popped a leading edge back up to him and Galiem took a sharp catch. It would not have made up for his earlier miss but it gave him good figures of 2 for 21 in four overs, with 12 dot balls, in his first international outing. But that wasn’t the end of Galiem. He was at long-on when Ayub hit Donovan Ferreira just about straight to him. Galiem got himself into an awkward position and the ball burst out of his hands.
Pakistan separated RizBar as they continue to experiment with their opening combination and Ayub has made the case to continue in the role. He scored three runs off the first eight balls he faced before swatting a Ferreira delivery to debutant Galiem at point, who could not hold on to the chance.
The next ball Ayub faced, he muscled over deep midwicket for six at the start of a spectacular takedown of Maphaka. The next two balls brought back-to-back boundaries before three dot balls ended the most expensive over of the Powerplay. The slog sweep proved a favorite shot of Ayub’s as he perfectly complemented Babar.
Ayub’s career-best, and also his first half-century in the format came off 33 balls in the 11th over, so he had the time and opportunity to double up. After Babar was dismissed, Ayub brought out more classical strokes like the square drive. He continued to take on Maphaka, and hit him for three sixes in his final over to stand on the edge of 90, with three overs left. In a cruel twist, Ayub only faced six balls in the last three overs, and none in the last over, and was left unbeaten on 98.
Pakistan had similarly rode on the expertise of their young opener Saim Ayub in posing a good total. After the early departure of Mohammad Rizwan, Ayub stitched together an 87-run stand with Babar Azam for the second wicket. Pakistan slipped up in the middle overs losing three wickets in as many overs but Ayub stayed on and ensured that Pakistan had a strong finish. Cameos from Irfan Khan and Abbas Afridi helped Pakistan’s cause but eventually it did not prove to be enough.
Reeza Hendricks blistering 117 and Rassie Van der Dussen hands SA first series win since August 2022
Brought into the side in place of wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem, Jahandad Khan almost immediately showed what he can do. His second delivery moved away from the left-handed Ryan Rickelton, who could not help but play at 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 with a short ball which Matthew Breetzke attempted to pull but could only sky to mid-on. Shaheen Shah Afridi took a simple catch to leave South Africa 28 for 2 after four overs.
A day after being dropped from the ODI side to play Pakistan next week and with questions swirling over his continued presence in national squads, Reeza Hendricks silenced his critics by showing he still has what it takes at this level.
Reeza Hendricks operated at a run-a-ball off the first 14 balls he faced and then tucked into a short Haris Rauf delivery to top-edge him over fine leg for six before putting a slower ball into the stands over deep square for six more. A third six saw South Africa finish the powerplay on 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, by the halfway stage. South Africa were 94 for 2; at the same stage Pakistan were 90 for 1.
Reeza Hendricks dealt in boundaries and leapt into the nineties with three more sixes and two fours before bringing up triple figures when he hit Rauf over midwicket. His hundred came off 54 balls, and he finished with 117 off 63 balls, including seven fours and 10 sixes and left South African on the brink of victory. When Reeza Hendricks was dismissed, they needed 21 runs off 14 balls, and got there off 11.
In 78 T20Is, Reeza Hendricks owns 2,271 runs at an average of 30.28. He owns one ton and 17 fifties. Reeza Hendricks has raced to 250 fours and 63 sixes. As per ESPNCricinfo, in 8 games versus Pakistan, he has 330 runs at 41.25. This was 3rd fifty-plus score.
Pakistan had set a stiff 200-plus target for the hosts, but Hendricks and Co. made light work of the chase against a potent bowling attack. They had lost two wickets inside the PowerPlay losing both Ryan Rickelton and Matthew Breetzke to Jahandad Khan. That, however, did not deter South Africa as they powered on through a 157-run stand between Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen for the third wicket.
Reeza Hendricks was the aggressor in this partnership and brought up his maiden T20I ton in the process. For Pakistan, only Abrar Ahmed was on the less-expensive side , conceding only 29 in his quota of overs. By the time Hendricks was dismissed by Abbas Afridi in the 18th over, South Africa were well on course to victory. Van der Dussen’s unbeaten 66 ensured that they got over the line without any hiccups.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Heinrich Klassen the winning SA skipper said : Goal achieved. Much-needed as well and very happy for the guys. [on Reeza] He is so easy on the eye, when he comes off like that, he is an unbelievable human-being as well and couldn’t happen for a better guy. Bit frustrated but quite happy, at one stage we looked to keep them down to 180 and ill-discipline came in again and it was a par score.
Dew came in and when we looked at the wicket before the game, knew it won’t change much, quite pleased. It was getting a bit tight as they started nailing the yorkers, Rassie is a class act and I tried to get him on strike, one boundary and job done. [on Galiem] Super stoked for him, he bowled incredibly well, hopefully he can do it tomorrow again. Main goal was to win the series, tomorrow we will see who is fit and who is not and take it from there.
Mohammad Rizwan the losing Pakistan skipper said : [on Reeza] He played very well. Saim Ayub was exceptional, after 10 overs we lost our way, the middle-order is in a learning process, we have an inexperienced side, we were looking at 220-plus but 4 overs they bowled really well. [on Irfan] He is one of the guys who we are looking at as a power hitter and hopefully he will continue doing that. We have another match and still we love cricket and would look forward to play tomorrow.
Reeza Hendricks Player of the Match for his blistering 117 runs said : Quite pleased to get to three-figures. It’s been quite some time since I got to the milestone, also, it’s been a while since we won a series and it’s a special night. It’s another opportunity to play for the country.
First over, 5 dot balls and then I got one away. Then I found the middle and things worked out in the end. It’s one of those nights, the shots I played came off, a tactic to go to the shorter boundary and fortunately it came off. Played with Rassie at the Lions, we know each other and he played an unbelievable knock.
Reeza Hendricks scored his first T20I century, in his tenth year of being an international cricketer, as South Africa won their first bilateral T20I series win since August 2022. They registered the third-highest successful chase at SuperSport Park to break a T20I trophy drought that has extended for eight series, since they beat Ireland more than two years ago. It is also Rob Walter’s first T20I series win since taking over the white-ball coaching job in March 2023.
After being asked to field first, South Africa conceded the fifth-highest first-innings total at SuperSport Park and chased it down with three balls to spare. Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen, batting at No.4, shared a third-wicket partnership of 157 off 83 balls to form the spine of the chase. Van der Dussen scored his seventh T20I fifty and hit the winning runs with stand-in captain Heinrich Klaasen at the other end.
Pakistan were guilty of an over-reliance on the slower ball, which they sent down liberally, but that may not be where they lost the game. Although they crossed 200, they could have had many more. They were 103 for 1 after 11 overs and 136 for 4 after 16.
In that five-over period, South Africa took 3 for 33, thanks to debutant Dayyaan Galiem and left-arm spinner George Linde. Despite those strikes, Pakistan’s innings was built on two big partnerships: Babar Azam and Saim Ayub put on 87 off 45 balls for the second wicket before Ayub and Irfan Khan posted 73 of 32 balls for the fifth wicket to propel their score over 200. It was not enough thanks to Hendricks and van der Dussen, two older hands, who took South Africa home.
Fantastic chase by South Africa and they win the series 2-0 with a game to go. Not easy defending scores in the Highveld and Pakistan’s strong bowling attack has been made to look ordinary. Reeza Hendricks with a fabulous hundred – his first T20I ton and he was smashing sixes for fun. Lost Rickelton and Breetzke early but found an able partner in van der Dussen and the duo tore apart Pakistan. Except Abrar and Jahandad the others were smashed all over the place.
Abbas Afridi, Rauf and Shaheen Afridi were guilty of overdoing the slower-balls and lots of sixes were smacked against them to the mid-wicket area. Some of the shots Reeza played was just stunning and it was pure timing and class on show from him. He did not finish the job as he fell but van der Dussen was there to do it. The game went to the last over but South Africa were always in a comfortable position, South Africa win the series with a game to go. That final game is tomorrow on 14th and Pakistan would look to avoid series whitewash .