After a dominant 2-1 win in the ODI series, which saw Pakistan becoming only the second touring team after Australia to win at least 2 bilateral ODI series against the Proteas in their backyard, the visitors will now look to better their record in the shortest format as well.
South Africa and Pakistan will play four T20Is with the series starting from Saturday, April 10, and the hosts will hope to stop the rot as fast as possible.
South African players haven't necessarily been underperforming in the series so far, but one can agree that Pakistan have just been the better side, overall.
As was the case in the ODI series, South Africa leads the head-to-head record in the T20I format, although that could mean very little.
| Head-to-Head Overall | ||
| South Africa | Head-to-Head | Pakistan |
| 17 | Matches | 17 |
| 9 | Wins | 8 |
| 52.94% | Win Percentage | 47.06% |
| Head-to-Head in South Africa | ||
| South Africa | Head-to-head | Pakistan |
| 7 | Matches | 7 |
| 4 | Wins | 3 |
| 57.14% | Win Percentage | 42.86% |
South Africa have welcomed England twice in their last five bilateral T20I series, with the other teams being Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The hosts' only victories have come against the Asian countries.
On the other hand, the Men in Green have picked up one win in their last five bilateral T20I series, which came against New Zealand in 2018. The likes of England, Australia and South Africa have beaten Pakistan, with New Zealand winning the last T20I series in 2020.
Despite the superior head-to-head against Pakistan, South Africa will have concerns with their form in the T20Is of late. The proteas have lost four out of their last five T20Is. Not only that, but South Africa have lost three out of their last five home T20I matches against Pakistan.
Though Pakistan have lost three of their last five completed away T20I matches, momentum sternly remains on their side. However, as was the case during ODIs, the T20I series is also expected see some exceptional individual performances deciding the outcomes.
| Top Run Scorers for South Africa in last 5 T20I matches | ||||||||
| Players | Matches | Innings | Runs | Highest | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
| HE Van der Dussen | 5 | 5 | 197 | 74* | 65.66 | 147.01 | 0 | 1 |
| Quinton de Kock | 5 | 5 | 152 | 70 | 30.4 | 147.57 | 0 | 2 |
| F Du Plessis | 5 | 5 | 141 | 58 | 35.25 | 129.35 | 0 | 2 |
| Top Run Scorers for Pakistan in last 5 T20I matches | ||||||||
| Players | Matches | Innings | Runs | Highest | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
| Mohammad Hafeez | 5 | 5 | 295 | 99* | 98.33 | 168.57 | 0 | 3 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | 4 | 3 | 128 | 89 | 42.66 | 133.33 | 0 | 1 |
| Babar Azam | 2 | 2 | 77 | 56 | 38.5 | 124.19 | 0 | 1 |
Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ Phil Magakoe
