ABU DHABI: Paceman Lonwabo Tsotsobe and off-spinner Johan Botha took three wickets apiece to help South Africa beat Pakistan by six wickets in the first of two Twenty20 matches here Tuesday. Tsotsobe, with a career-best 3-16, and skipper Botha (3-31) led a spirited South African bowling to restrict Pakistan to a paltry 119 at the Abu Dhabi Stadium in a match whose income will go to flood victims in Pakistan. Over two million people were displaced in the worst-ever floods in Pakistan. Jean-Paul Duminy hit an elegant 41 while Colin Ingram remained unbeaten with 46 as South Africa reached the target after losing three early wickets for 26. The two left-handers shared a solid 66-run partnership for the fourth wicket after paceman Shoaib Akhtar gave Pakistan some hope with the quick wickets of opener Loots Bosman and AB de Villiers in the third over. Ingram hit two towering sixes and four boundaries during his 38-ball knock. Duminy hit five boundaries as the two dominated the Pakistan bowling which initially looked threatening. Botha said he was happy to lead the series. “It was a clinical performance and I am happy at the way the young guns stepped in after we lost three early wickets especially Ingram and Duminy,” said Botha. Duminy, who also took two beautiful catches, was declared Man of the Match. Earlier, Tsotsobe and off-spinner Botha bowled tightly to derail Pakistan, which won the toss and batted on a flat pitch. Misbahul Haq, recalled after being axed following the World Twenty20 in May this year, topscored with 27 with a six and two boundaries. Skipper Shahid Afridi hit a rapid seven-ball 25 before he became one of Botha's three victims. Pakistan had raced to 16 in the second over before Tsotsobe removed openers Imran Farhat (10) and Shahzaib Hasan (nine) in the sixth. Botha then removed Mohammad Hafeez (13), Afridi and Abdul Razzaq (four) to end Pakistan's hopes of reaching a respectable total. Pakistan coach Waqar Younis was disappointed over the poor batting. “We scored 25-30 runs less than we expected,” said Waqar, whose team lost the last six wickets for a mere 35 runs. “We need to bat with strategy in the next game.” This is Pakistan's home series shifted to United Arab Emirates due to security fears. The two teams meet in the second Twenty20 here Wednesday. They then play the first two One-Day Internationals and the second Test in Abu Dhabi. Dubai will stage the last three one-day and the first Test. Action against paper The Pakistan Cricket Board is considering legal action against British tabloid The Sun after the International Cricket Council cleared its players of allegations of wrongdoing during a limited-overs international against England at The Oval. PCB legal adviser Tafazzul Rizvi told the Associated Press Tuesday that he was consulting lawyers in Britain regarding a possible defamation case on behalf of the players. The Sun reported the story “in such a crude manner that we think they have a case to answer,” Rizvi said. The ICC investigated information passed on by The Sun, which suggested a scoring pattern in Pakistan's innings was prearranged during the September match, before clearing the players. Rizvi said the PCB had considered legal action from day one. “And now with ICC clearing the match, we are looking at the legal field and it is certainly under our serious consideration,” he said. Pakistan players were accused of spot fixing during the scandal-filled tour of England, where it also played a Test series against Australia. The ICC suspended three cricketers - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - after another British tabloid ‘The News of the World' accused them of accepting money for bowling predetermined no-balls during the Lord's test match against England. All three appealed their suspensions, but Asif later withdrew his appeal. The ICC will hear appeals from Butt and Amir in Dubai on Oct. 30-31. Earlier this month, the ICC also gave the PCB a deadline of 30 days to shore up its ability to prevent match fixing or face further, unspecified action. The PCB also agreed not to support or defend “tainted players.” As a result, all the three suspended players have to defend their own cases. – AgenciesScoreboard Pakistan Hasan c Duminy b Tsotsobe 09 Farhat c Smith b Tsotsobe 10 Hafeez c Ingram b Botha 13 U.Akmal c Botha b A.Morkel 14 Afridi c Bosman b Botha 25 Misbah not out 27 Razzaq b Botha 04 Haider c Duminy b M.Morkel 01 Gul c Smith b Tsotsobe 00 Ajmal run out 04 Akhtar run out 03 Extras: (lb1, nb3, w5) 09 Total (all out, 19.5 overs) 119 Falls: 1-16 (Farhat), 2-38 (Hasan), 3-46 (Hafeez), 4-75 (Afridi), 5-84 (Akmal), 6-90 Razzaq), 7-91 (Haider), 8-92 (Gul), 9-99 (Ajmal). Bowling: M. Morkel 4-0-28-1 (4w), Tsotsobe 4-0-16-3, A. Morkel 4-1-18-1 (3nb), Theron 3.5-0-25-0, Botha 4-0-31-3 (1w).South Africa Smith b Hafeez 13 Bosman c Farhat b Akhtar 02 De Villiers b Akhtar 00 Duminy c Akmal b Ajmal 41 Ingram not out 46 Miller not out 13 Extras: (lb3, w2) 05 Total: (for 4, 18.2 overs) 120 Falls: 1-16 (Bosman), 2-16 (de Villiers), 3-26 (Smith), 4-92 (Duminy) Did not bat: A. Morkel, J. Botha, M. Morkel, J. Theron, L. Tsostobe. Bowling: Akhtar 4-1-29-2, Razzaq 2-0-20-0 (1w), Hafeez 3-0-10-1, Gul 3.2-0-17-0, Ajmal 4-0-18-1 (1w), Afridi 2-0-23
