Pakistan vs South Africa, 1st T20I at Rawalpindi, PAK vs SA, Oct 28 2025 - Match Result

11.53pm That's all from us at ESPNcricinfo. Can Pakistan level the series on Friday, 31st October? We'll catch you then to see how the second T20I in Lahore plays out. Till them, bye bye!

Winning captain Donovan Ferreira: "Very proud of the effort - it was a collective effort. We had a good powerplay batting effort and Linde finished it well. We kept it simple with the ball and wanted to keep it nice and simple - top of off. [Players grabbing opportunities] When guys are rested, new guys get opportunities and they really put up their hands today. Bowled well but we put up a good score too. [Batting effort] Reeza held it together nicely for us which allowed George license to explode. [Bosch] He had really good energy on the ball. He usually goes for the yorkers but he hit the deck today and got something out of the deck. Four wickets is an amazing achievement."

Losing captain Salman Ali Agha: "We didn't start well with the ball but we pulled things back. With the batting, we are losing wickets quickly and we need to have a quick turnaround. [Ultra Aggressive batting approach] We just need to bat properly, do singles and doubles and build partnerships. We are missing partnerships. If we have partnerships we can chase such totals. [Learning from SA bowlers] We didn't bowl well in the powerplay. Bowling top of off stump would've been good enough but the positive is how we pulled it back later."

George Linde is Player of the Match for his 36 and three-for: "To be honest, I don't think I deserved this. Bosch and Hendricks set the game up for us, they deserved it. My role with the bat is to try and finish games. Glad I pulled it off. Will try next game too. With the ball I knew what I wanted to do initially but I didn't execute. Later I tried to be calm. Lahore, the next venue, is awesome and Pakistan will come hard to win the next game but we'll be ready for them."

11.41pm Stick around for the presentation. It shall begin soon.

11.35pm A commanding win for South Africa in the first T20I. Coming into the series labelled a second-string side, they've shown they're far more than that - outplaying Pakistan with both bat and ball. Stand-in captain Donovan Ferreira can be proud of how his young team defended 194 with discipline and intensity.

Corbin Bosch led the charge with a brilliant spell of 4 for 14, sending down 17 dot balls in a performance full of control. George Linde complemented his batting cameo with a strong three-wicket return, while Williams held his nerve and Nandre Burger cranked up the pace to keep Pakistan under pressure especially in the powerplay. A statement victory for the visitors as they go 1-0 up in the three-match series. Credit also to Reeza Hendricks for his 40-ball 60 that held the SA innings together, alongside the cameos from a returning Quinton de Kock and debutant Tony de Zorzi.

As for Pakistan, it was a night of familiar failings, especially with the bat. Saim Ayub's continued lack of fluency, too much reliance on Sahibzada Farhan at one end, and captain Salman Ali Agha's struggles with the bat are just some of them. Babar Azam's two-ball duck shouldn't invite undue criticism, but given how divided opinions were about his recall to the T20I side, the noise around his place is unlikely to quieten. Mohammad Nawaz's all-round effort - 3 for 26 and a fighting 36 - was the lone bright spot on an otherwise forgettable evening for the hosts.

araz : "SA hit 16 Fours and only 4 Sixes. Pakistan hit 13 Fours and 6 Sixes.So all in all Pak scored / hit more Sixes and almost same number of Fours.SA played lots of dot balls on Nawaz and Saim. "

Hans: "What a player of the match performance by GF Linde with bat and ball. Conceded 28 runs of 10 balls, and then only 3 runs of 8 balls, and took 3 crucial wickets. Scored 36 runs of 22 balls at wicket 7. " -- Let's see whether Bosch has pipped him to that award or not,

Williams will bowl out.

Muhammad: "a nothing performance with the bat, despite being the top scorer Saim I believe was the real culprit. And Salman needs to be sent to domestic for at least next 5 years. "

Shahrukh: "Now I'm just hoping for Nawaz's fifty "

Zubair Islam : "Pak needs Abdur Razzaq " -- you took me back to my childhood. Thank you.