CENTURION: Pakistan face a vital situation when they face South Africa in the second T20 International at Centurion on Friday.

Pakistan, who failed to reach 184 in the first T20 at Kingsmead, will surely draw some confidence from their last tour of South Africa in 2021 when the greenshirts won the T20 series 3-1. Two of these victories came in the Centurion.

After losing the series opener in Durban by 11 runs, the Mohammad Rizwan-led tourists will need to up their game in all areas at SuperSport Park if they are to keep the three-match series alive.

The overall head-to-head T20 record between the two teams is fairly even with 12 wins for Pakistan and 11 for South Africa.

Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf said the tourists wanted to get back to winning ways in the second T20.

“It’s a crucial game in this series for us. This venue (SuperSport Park) produced high profile matches on our last tour (in 2021). We will try to win the game (to stay in the series),” Haris said while talking to reporters during a media conference in Centurion on Thursday.

The pacer said that the team would overcome the mistakes made in the series opener.

“We made a lot of mistakes in the last game. “The team has discussed all these mistakes and we will try (not to repeat them) and win tomorrow’s game,” he explained.

“As this venue (SuperSport Park) tends to produce high-scoring games, we as a bowling department will try to limit the number of opponents to a lower total score.”

Responding to a question about the positives for the team after the loss in the first T20, the pacer said it was encouraging for Pakistan that young players were part of the lineup.

“It (the first T20) was a good game that we tried our best to win but (couldn’t). The positive is that the young players in our team are getting chances and performing well, which is very important for the team,” he said, adding that the team members are confident of giving their best to win the game on Friday .

Responding to a query, Haris, who was named the ICC Player of the Month in November, said the team wanted to improve its performance.

“We will try to do as well in this series as we did in 2021 (in the T20 series),” he said.

The third T20 will be played in Johannesburg on Saturday, followed by a three-match ODI series and a two-Test series between the two nations.

Published in Dawn, December 13, 2024