CENTURION, South Africa: South Africa won a bilateral Twenty20 series for the first time in more than two years when it chased down Pakistan’s 206 on Friday.
Opener Reeza Hendricks’ maiden T20 century, 117 off 63 balls, drove the Proteas to 210-3 with three balls to spare.
Pakistan’s 206-5 was braced by an equally brilliant unbeaten 98 off 57 by opener Saim Ayub, who was desperately unlucky not to notch his maiden T20 century. He was stranded, unable to face the last nine balls of the innings.
South Africa won the series 2-0 with a game to spare for its first T20 series victory since August 2022.
The teams’ combined 416 runs were the most in the 17-year history of their T20 matchups.
Hendricks has been a T20 Protea for 10 years and a prolific scorer and striker but he’d been on a mediocre run of late. When South Africa was 28-2 after four overs, he stepped up.
“First over, five dots and got away, and so the moment I got that away, things started to click,” Hendricks said. I’m happy that I found the middle and things worked out in the end. (It’s) one of those nights, the shots I played came off.”
Hendricks hit 10 sixes and seven boundaries, targeting the shorter boundary on the leg side with pulls and flicks and the odd sweep.
He and Rassie van der Dussen shared a chanceless stand of 157 runs for the third wicket until the 18th over when Hendricks was caught near the midwicket boundary off Abbas Afridi.
Van der Dussen reached his fifty off 33 balls in the same over, and finished the chase with his fifth six, over deep backward square. He was 66 not out from 38 balls.
Pakistan opted to bat first after failing in the chase on Tuesday, and Saim was dropped on 3 in the third over.
He didn’t give another chance. While he lost four partners, Saim put on a show with pulls, flicks, drives, sweeps and even a ramp shot for his 11th and last boundary.
On 98, double his previous best T20 score, he couldn’t get back on strike as Irfan Khan and Afridi blasted the death bowling.
Saim missed out on adding a maiden T20 hundred to the maiden one-day international ton he scored 2 1/2 weeks ago in Bulawayo.
South Africa pacer Dayyan Galiem led on debut with 2-21 but an inexperienced battery — 42 caps between six bowlers — suffered from conceding 15 wides.
The last T20 is on Saturday in Johannesburg.
Hendricks’ maiden hundred leads South Africa to T20 series win over Pakistan
https://arab.news/52g78
Hendricks’ maiden hundred leads South Africa to T20 series win over Pakistan
- Opener Reeza Hendricks scored maiden T20 century to chase Pakistan’s 206 score
- Win in second match earns Proteas first bilateral T20 series win in more than two years
Riyadh 2026: The gateway to LIV’s most global season yet
- We are the world’s golf league, says LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil
RIYADH: Under the lights of Riyadh Golf Club, LIV Golf begins its campaign from February 4 to 7 in the Kingdom’s capital, opening what is the most international season to date. With 14 events scheduled across 10 countries and five continents, LIV has doubled down on its ambition to position itself as golf’s leading global circuit outside the United States.
For LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil, that identity is no longer about staging tournaments in different timezones, but also about aligning more closely with the sport’s tradition. One of the league’s headline shifts for 2026 has been the switch from 54-hole events to 72 holes.
“The move to 72 holes was much talked about,” O’Neil said at the pre-season press conference. “For us, that was relatively simple. We want to make sure that our players are best prepared for the majors, that it's not as much of a sprint, that our teams have a chance to recover after a tough day one.”
He added that the decision was also driven by the league’s commercial and broadcast momentum across several markets.
“With the overwhelming support we have seen in several of our markets, quite frankly, more content is better. More fans come in, more broadcast content social hospitality checks check,” O’Neil said.
Launched in 2022 after a great deal of fanfare, LIV Golf had initially differentiated itself from other golf tours with a shorter, more entertainment-led event model. This includes team competition, alongside individual scoring, concert programming and fan-focused activations.
After four campaigns with 54-holes, the shift back to 72 signals an attempt to preserve the golf identity while answering longstanding questions about competitive comparability with golf’s established tours.
Riyadh will now host the LIV Golf League season opener for the second consecutive season, following its debut under the night lights in February 2025. As the individual fund rises from $20 million to $22 million, and the team purse increases from $5 million to $8 million, LIV Golf is not backing down on its bid to showcase confidence and continuity as it enters its fifth season.
For the Kingdom, the role goes beyond simply hosting the opening event. Positioned at the crossroads of continents, Riyadh has become LIV’s gateway city — the place where the league sets its tone before exporting it across various locations across the world.
“Players from 26 countries? Think about that being even possible 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago,” O’Neil said. “That there would be players from 26 countries good enough to play at an elite level globally, and there is no elite platform outside the U.S.”
The departure of Brooks Koepka from LIV and his return to the PGA Tour has inevitably raised questions around player movement and long-term sustainability. O’Neil, however, framed the decision as a matter of fit rather than fallout.
“If you are a global citizen and you believe in growing the game, that means getting on a plane and flying 20 hours,” he said. “That's not for everybody. It isn't.”
Despite the separation, O’Neil insisted there was no animosity.
“I love Brooks. I root for Brooks. I am hoping the best for him and his family,” he emphasised.
Attention now turns to the players who have reaffirmed their commitment to LIV Golf, including Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith. Amid continued tensions with the DP World Tour and the sport’s traditional power centres, O’Neil insists the league’s focus remains inward.
“There is no holy war, at least from our side. We are about LIV Golf and growing the game globally,” he said.
From Riyadh to Adelaide, from Hong Kong to South Africa, LIV Golf’s 2026 calendar stretches further ever than before. As debate continues over the league’s place within the sport, LIV is preparing to show that its challenge to golf’s established order is not, as some doubters suggest, fading.
With the spotlight firmly on its fifth season, Riyadh will provide the first impression — the opening statement from which LIV Golf intends to show the world where it stands.
