An exceptional bowling display followed by some big hitting from Saim Ayub saw Pakistan thrash South Africa by nine wickets to level their T20I series at 1-1.

The Proteas were skittled all out for just 110 after being put into bat, before Ayub’s unbeaten 71 off 38 balls got Pakistan over the line in 13.1 overs in Lahore.

Reeza Hendricks (0) was dismissed with the second ball of the innings by Salman Mirza (3-14), while Quinton de Kock (7), who has struggled in his return to the side, was caught off the bowling of Naseem Shah (2-28) in the following over.

Faheem Ashraf (4-23) then took centre stage as he ripped through the South Africa middle order before also taking the final wicket of Ottneil Baartman (12).

Corbin Bosch (1-17) took the sole wicket in the Pakistan innings, removing Sahibzada Farhan for 28, while Babar Azam’s 11 off 18 played a secondary role to Ayub’s masterclass.

The opener scored six fours and five maximums on his way to 71, scoring at a strike rate of 186.84 to clinch victory for the hosts.

 4234* runs and counting! Babar Azam is now leading run scorer in T20Is #GreenPeYaqeen | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/CuEOjUhF2u

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 31, 2025

Data Debrief: T20I history for Azam

Although Ayub will take many of the plaudits after what was his 50th T20I match, and rightly so, it was also a special occasion for Azam.

He has now scored the most runs in men’s T20I history (4,234), surpassing Rohit Sharma’s previous record of 4,231.

Pakistan are now on a five-match winning streak at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in men’s T20Is, after winning only two of their previous six matches at the venue.

Indeed, this current five-game streak is their best ever at the venue in the format.