Stand-in Proteas skipper David Miller endured a moment of panic during the second T20I against Pakistan before his bowlers hit back to secure a seven run win at the Wanderers.

The result afforded the Proteas an unassailable lead in the three-match series. The final T20I will be played at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

The hosts gathered 188 for three and later limited the opposition to 181 for seven. Pakistan raced to 147 for one on the back of opener Babar Azam’s brisk 90, but ultimately collapsed.

Debutant Sipamla conceded a mere 23 runs in four overs, while Shamsi was relatively economical en route to none for 31 in four. Seamer Andile Phehlukwayo, meanwhile, snared figures of three for 36.

‘We didn’t start too well, but credit to our bowlers for really bringing it back. Shamsi came on and did incredibly well to bring their run rate down, and then Sipamla in his first game was absolutely incredible. I was really pleased with the two of them,’ said Miller, who led the side in the absence of the rested Faf du Plessis.

‘I thought I was the worst captain on the planet, to be honest, but they were always going to go hard in the powerplay.’

Defeated skipper Shoaib Malik praised the left-handed Miller, who struck an entertaining 65 not out from 29 deliveries, laced with four fours and five sixes.

‘Miller was struggling throughout the ODI series, but he’s a class player, and if he gets going we have to have two or three plans to stop him. He took the game away from us. We were in the game till the 15th over. Later we were expecting to chase about 160, but we gave away some extra runs,’ concluded Malik.

Photo: Gallo