South African all-rounder George Linde made a remarkable comeback to international cricket in the opening T20I against Pakistan in Durban. However, his journey to the stadium took an unexpected twist when he missed the team bus before the match. Having waited more than three years for this opportunity, Linde found himself in a scramble after a timing mix-up caused him to miss the bus.
The all-rounder revealed the reason behind missing the bus. While speaking to press he revealed, "For some reason, my phone was 15 minutes behind the actual time. I told myself, okay, I’ll go down at 4 o'clock and board the bus early. When I stepped out of the hotel, I saw the bus leaving."
Despite missing the bus, the all-rounder reached stadium, thanks to the quick thinking of his team’s support staff. He added “Luckily, there was a police escort. They took me to the bus. It was a very embarrassing moment for me. I won’t be late again.”
Lindle proppels South Africa to Victory against Pakistan in 1st T20I
Despite missing the bus, Lindle all-round brilliance powered South Africa to an 11-run victory over Pakistan in the T20 series opener. Despite losing half the side with 104 runs on board, the proteas recovered to post 183-9 courtesy of fine knock from David Miller and Lindle. Miller who blasted 82 runs off 40 balls, including eight sixes and four boundaries. Linde also contributed handsomely with 48 runs off 24 balls.
Pakistan struggle din their run chase with Mohammad Rizwan anchoring the innings but struggling to accelerate. Saim Ayub scored a quickfire 31 runs off 15 balls, and Tayyab Tahir contributed 18 off 18.
However the match turned heads with Rizwan came alive in the 17th over, he hammered two sixes off Kwena Maphaka one over long-on and the other over long-off. However Lindle in the 18th over turned the match in favour of home team with three wickets in space of just four balls.
He thought he had completed a hat trick but was denied when a review showed his delivery had missed Haris Rauf's leg stump. His 4-21 saw Pakistan's chase getting derailed and ultimately finishing at 172-8.
