Ahead of Thursday’s opening T20I encounter between Pakistan and the Proteas in Lahore, ANDRE HUISAMEN looks at the record between the two teams in the shorter format.
It’s fair to say the Proteas and Pakistan haven’t played much cricket against each other in the past 14 years and the T20 format is no different.
Pakistan’s domestic circumstances meant many tours were shortened or cancelled, avoiding T20 matches in the process.
READ: Playing Selector: Proteas vs Pakistan T20I
But, the two nations have gone head to head on a few occasions with the Proteas having the upper hand.
Six bilateral series have taken place between the Proteas and Pakistan since T20Is became part of the international schedule.
To date, the South Africans have won four of those series, accounting for eight wins from the 12 times they’ve gone up against each other.
Pakistan have only one series victory to their name and a total of three wins from those 12 encounters. One match yielded no result.
The hosts, however, hold a brilliant record over the Proteas in T20 World Cups, where they have never lost to the South Africans.
Pakistan beat the Proteas in the 2009 T20 World Cup semi-final on their way to famously lifting the title at Lord’s a match later.
They also comfortably got the better of the Proteas a year later in the West Indies, beating Graeme Smith’s men in a Super 8 tie.
The same happened at the 2012 World Cup, also in the Super 8 phase, where the Proteas failed to win any of their knockout matches.
The last time these two teams met, however, was back in South Africa in 2019 when the Proteas won the series 2-1.
Eight players from the current Proteas squad competed in that last series with Reeza Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Junior Dala, Lutho Sipamla and Tabraiz Shamsi all part of the ‘second-string’ squad for this series.
The Proteas have played only one T20I series over the past year, while Pakistan have had three different series since the Covid-19 lockdown.
They faced Zimbabwe in Pakistan in November and comfortably recorded a 3-0 series win.
