Babar Azam was dismissed for a duck in his comeback to T20 cricket as under-strength South Africa romped to 55-run win over Pakistan in the opener of a three-match series.

Pakistan couldn’t recover from Corbin Bosch’s twin strike that included the wicket of Babar before South Africa bowled out the home team for 139 on Tuesday to the disappointment of 16,000 home fans at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

South Africa had earlier made 194-9 after captain Donovan Ferreira lost the toss and was asked to bat first. Opening batter Reeza Hendricks scored 60 off 40 balls and George Linde added 36 off 22 balls.

Babar, who last played a T20 in December 2024 against South Africa, lasted only two balls and offered a tame catch to Hendricks in the covers inside the powerplay.

Pakistan had recalled Babar

See Full Page