Pakistan Tour of South Africa & Zimbabwe 2021 Series Review: Fakhar-Hasan-Nortje-Markram-Rizwan-Babar-Jongwe-Muzarabani The Stars
Pakistan tour of Africa 2021 Series Review!
Pakistan recently played in South Africa (3 ODIs, 4 T20Is) and Zimbabwe (3 T20Is, 2 Tests). The South Africa series, in particular was memorable, with most games going down the wire.
Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Hasan Ali highlighted the tour for Pakistan, while Anrich Nortje, Janneman Malan, and Aiden Markram came to the fore for the Proteas. While the Zimbabwe were criticized for their Test match display, they were pretty good in the T20s, with Luke Jongwe & Blessing Muzarabani emerging as Zimbabwe’s stars.
Also Read: Pakistan host South Africa 2021 Series Review, The Case for Pakistan Players in the IPL, South Africa Cricketers Who Play for Other Countries
Pakistan Tour of Africa 2021 – The Results
South Africa-Pakistan ODI Series: Pakistan won 2-1
* Player of Match
- Pakistan won by 3 wickets *Babar Azam
- South Africa won by 17 runs *Fakhar Zaman
- Pakistan won by 28 runs *Babar Azam
| Player of Series | South Africa | Pakistan Fakhar Zaman |
| Most Runs | Rassie van der Dussen – 183 runs (best of 123*, 183.00 average, 107.01 average, 100s-1, 50s-1) | Fakhar Zaman – 302 runs (best of 193, 100.66 average, 111.43 SR, 100s-2) |
| Most Wickets | Anrich Nortje – 7 wickets (best of 4/51, 16.28 average, 5.70 economy) | Haris Rauf – 7 wickets (best of 3/54, 24.42 average, 5.89 economy) |
South Africa-Pakistan T20I Series: Pakistan Won 3-1
- Pakistan won by 4 wickets *Mohammad Rizwan
- South Africa won by 6 wickets *George Linde
- Pakistan won by 9 wickets *Babar Azam
- Pakistan won by 3 wickets *Faheem Ashraf
| P*layer of Series | South Africa | Pakistan Babar Azam |
| Most Runs | Aiden Markram – 179 runs (best of 63, average 44.75, 182.65 SR, 50s-3) | Babar Azam – 210 runs (best of 122, 52.50 average, 143.83 SR, 100s-1, 50s-1) |
| Most Wickets | Lizaad Williams – 7 wickets (best of 3/35, 21.00 average, 9.38 economy) | Hasan Ali – 7 wickets (best of 3/40, 18.71 average, 9.35 economy) |
Zimbabwe-Pakistan T20I Series: Pakistan Won 2-1
- Pakistan won by 11 runs *Mohammad Rizwan
- Zimbabwe won by 19 runs *Luke Jongwe
- Pakistan won by 24 runs *Hasan Ali
| Player of Series | Zimbabwe | Pakistan Mohammad Rizwan |
| Most Runs | Wesley Madhevere – 89 runs (best of 59, 29.66 average, 127.14 SR, 50s-1) | Mohammad Rizwan – 186 runs (best of 91*, 186.00 average, 133.81 SR, 50s-2) |
| Most Wickets | Luke Jongwe – 9 wickets (best of 4/18, 8.77 average, 7.29 economy) | Mohammad Hasnain – 5 wickets (best of 2/19, 14.40 average, 6.00 economy) |
Zimbabwe-Pakistan Test Series: Pakistan Won 2-0
- Pakistan won by an innings and 118 runs *Hasan Ali
- Pakistan won by an innings and 147 runs *Abid Ali
| Player of Series | Zimbabwe | Pakistan Hasan Ali |
| Most Runs | Regis Chakabva – 146 runs (best of 80, 48.66 average, 50s-1) | Abid Ali – 275 runs (best of 215*, 275.00 average, 100s-1, 50s-1) |
| Most Wickets | Blessing Muzarabani – 7 wickets (best innings – 4/73, best match – 4/73, 22.14 average) | Hasan Ali – 14 wickets (best innings – 5/27, best match – 9/89, 8.92 average) |
The Moments
Pakistan had several memorable moments, while South Africa and Zimbabwe have some points to cheer about as well.
South Africa – Rising Young Team But Still Has Gaps To Fill
- Pressure situations reveal the class of a player. Although Anrich Nortje only played 2 ODIs prior to IPL departure, his 4/51 & 3/53 in the middle overs gave Proteas hope. It was his 4 wickets in the 2nd ODI that stopped Pakistan from chasing the mammoth 342 score. Fakhar Zaman was left playing a lone hand as Nortje took out his partners. His wickets in the series? Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq among others.
- Rassie van der Dussen – nominee for South Africa’s T20I, ODI, and cricketer of the year award, he has taken responsibility on his own shoulder. South Africa were reeling at 4-55 in the first ODI before Rassie’s maiden century – 123* rescued South Africa to 273, a winning total in the end. Couple of other handy fifties on the tour as well.
- The new look order does the job – ODI captain Temba Bavuma’s 92, Klassen’s 50 & 36*, Aiden Markram with 3 consecutive T20I fifties (51,54, 63) are positives. Couple of fifties for David Miller & Quinton de Kock with a 80 well.
- Find of the tournament for me was Janneman Malan. Superb timing. 70 (81) in the ODIs and 24 (16), 15(10), 55(40), 33 (28) in the T20Is provided South Africa the starts. QDK-Malan-Markram is exactly what SA need to drive forward.
- Will he? Won’t he? Well he has finally decided. AB De Villiers retires. For real this time.
Pakistan – The Alis Rise to the Occasion (Abid, Azhar, Nauman, Hasan)
Pakistan Top Order a Class Apart in Limited Overs
- We are living in the Babar Azam era. Except for the Zimbabwe series, Babar is having a good time, both with the bat and as a captain. Babar Azam overtook Virat Kohli’s reign at the top of the ICC ODI rankings. #10 in Tests and #3 on the T20I as well. Just the eighth captain in all of Test cricket to win four Test matches on a trot. Only Pakistani on that list.
- Mohammad Rizwan continues on his merry way. 74*, 0, 73*, 0, 82*, 13, 91*. These are T20I numbers. Amazing stuff. I do not really mind the ducks if you can play 4 match-winning knocks in 2 series. Rizwan has been Pakistan’s hero for the past year, performing in overseas conditions consistently.
- Just like Hasan Ali, Fakhar Zaman has yet to scale the heights of his 2017-2018 season. With Babar & Rizwan already in red hot form, Fakhar slotting as an opener was questionable. He repaid the selectors’ faith in style. Chasing 342 in the 2nd ODI, Fakhar Zaman scored possibly the best ODI knock in a losing cause—193 (155) (with 10 sixes), only to be run-out due to QDK’s guile. Until the 99th over of the match, it was anyone’s game. Followed this epic with a 101 in the very next game and 60 in a T20I.
Age is just a number
- Abid Ali (33), Nauman Ali (34), Fawad Alam (35), Azhar Ali (36), and Tabish Khan (36) all came to the party in the Zimbabwe Test series.
- Azhar Ali (126) and Abid Ali (215) combined for a magnificent 236-run partnership in the 2nd Test, batting Zimbabwe out of the match.
- Fawad Alam is making each and every series count. Since his return, he has made a century in New Zealand (102), South Africa (109), and Zimbabwe (140). He has converted all of his four 50+ scores into centuries. Brilliant stuff.
- Tabish Khan became the second oldest debutant for Pakistan. After toiling in domestic cricket for 19 years and after 598 wickets, Tabish finally received the international cap at the age of 36. Wicket in the first over as well.
The Test Bowling Unit Makes a Mark
- Shaheen Shah Afridi, Nauman Ali, and Hasan Ali each took five-fors in the Zimbabwe Test Series.
- Nauman, the left-arm orthodox, ended with figures of 5-86 to end Zimbabwe’s resistance in the final innings of the 2nd Test. Handy 97 (143) as well as a #9 batsman, combining for a 169-run partnership with Abid Ali.
- Find of the victorious 2017 Champions Trophy campaign, Hasan Ali had a slight blip in his rising career. After a couple of years on the sideline and fighting back with a strong domestic performance, the energizer is back! Hasan Ali has been a revelation on his comeback – Most wickets for Pakistan in the SA T20I series and the Zimbabwe Test series. Truly deserved the Player of the Series award in the Zimbabwe series (4/53, 5/36, 5/27).
- Take Shaheen lightly at your own peril. Opening bowler, death bowler, can do everything. 6 wickets in the SA ODIs and 3 in the T20Is, and figures of 4/43 & 5/52 versus Zimbabwe.
Imran Butt caught the attention of many as well. His 91 (236) set the tone in the Zimbabwe Test series. Five catches in the slips a pretty good job done as well.
Zimbabwe – Injuries, Memorable T20I Win, Humiliating Test Loss
- Blessing Muzarabani has the height, pace, and bounce. At 24, he is one of Zimbabwe’s future stars. In a one-sided Test series, his 4/73 and 3/82 was quite a highlight. Babar Azam – 0(1) & 2 (8), Fawad Alam (140) , Azhar Ali (126) among his seven scalps.
- Luke Jongwe was Zimbabwe’s hero in the 2nd T20I. Pakistan lost their way on a 119-run chase, bowled-out for 99. Jongwe’s figures? 3.5-0-18-4. 30* & 2/24 in the first T20I and 3/37 in the final match sums up a great series for Jongwe.
- Sikander Raza was diagnosed of a bone-marrow infection operation (initially a cancer scare) and underwent a surgery. Raza was dearly missed with Brendan Taylor out of form and injury-list of Kyle Jarvis (COVID-19, malaria, tick bite fever), Sean Williams (sick), Craig Ervine (calf injury), Prince Masvaure, Wesley Madhevere,, & Tendai Chatara.
Ryan Burl Makes The Headlines
1. Ryan Burl exposes disparity between top nations and less-funded teams.
2. After social media outrage, Burl found a sponsor.
Squad Predictions for T20I World Cup
With 23-men squad for the T20I world possible now, here are my early squad predictions. Based on this Pakistan tour of Africa 2021, here is our early predictions:
South Africa
South Africa just released their squads for the tour of West Indies, which gives us some new hints.
- Quinton de Kock (WK), 2. Janneman Malan, 3. Faf du Plessis, 4. Rassie Van der Dussen, 5. Temba Bavuma*, 6. David Miller, 7. George Linde, 8. Chris Morris, 9. Kagiso Rabada, 10. Anrich Nortje, 11. Tabraiz Shamsi
Squad: 12. Heinrich Klassen, 13. Aiden Markram, 14. Andile Phelukwayo, 15. JJ Smuts, 146 Dwaine Pretorius, 17. Lungi Ngidi, 18. Bjorn Fortuin, 19. Lizaad Williams, 20. Kyle Verreynne, 21. Sisanda Magala, 22. Reeza Hendricks, 23. Keshav Maharaj
Wildcards: AB De Villiers (WK), Imran Tahir, Marco Jansen, Lutho Sipamla, Junior Dala, Pete van Biljon
*captain
Pakistan
For reference, here was our earlier WT20 watch for Pakistan’s squad in our Pak Vs NZ and the Pakistan leg of the Pak-SA series.. Some new faces have come into play, while some players have dropped off the list.
- Babar Azam (C), 2. Mohammad Rizwan (WK), 3. Fakhar Zaman, 4. Haider Ali, 5. Mohammad Hafeez, 6. Shadab Khan, 7. Faheem Ashraf, 8. Hasan Ali, 9. Haris Rauf, 10. Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11. Usman Qadir
Squad: 12. Imad Wasim, 13. Mohammad Hasnain, 14. Mohammad Nawaz, 15. Sarfaraz Ahmed (WK), 16. Sharjeel Khan, 17. Naseem Shah, 18. Imam-ul-Haq, 19. Danish Aziz, 20. Arshad Iqbal, 21. Zahid Mahmood, 22. Khusdil Shah/Hussain Talat/Asif Ali (lower order finisher), 23. Iftikhar Ahmed/Shoaib Malik
Wildcard: Sohail Tanvir, Zafar Gohar, Mohammad Wasim, Mohammad Musa/Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir (rumors has it he applied for UK passport in order to be available for the IPL)
Since Zimbabwe did not qualify for the 2021 T20 World Cup, we will not be looking into their squads.
Awards
| South Africa | Pakistan | Zimbabwe | |
| Emerging Player | Janneman Malan | Imran Butt | Luke Jongwe |
| Surprise Package | Aiden Markram | Returns of Fakhar Zaman & Hasan Ali | Regis Chakabva |
| Broken Cricket Dream | AB De Villiers Retires. Like Actually | Mohammad Amir applies for British citizenship | Brendon Taylor’s form Short Test Matches Sikander Raza |
Where Do They Go From Here?
Lots of cricket action coming up!
- South Africa head to the Caribbean for 2 Tests & 5 T20Is against the West Indies in June.
- Pakistan tour England for 3 ODIs & 3 T20Is in July, followed by 5 T20Is & 2 Tests against the West Indies. There is a Pakistan Super League resumption in the UAE somewhere in the middle as well (if it gets finalized).
- Zimbabwe travels to Ireland for a mega tour – 3 ODIs & 5 T20Is.
What did you think of our Pakistan tour of Africa 2021?
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Copyright (2021: 5/21/2021)– @Nitesh Mathur, aka Nit-X – bcd@brokokencricketdreams.com
