Babar Azam's sensational 122, Mohammad Rizwan's 73* give Pakistan 2-1 lead

Pakistan 205 for 1 (Azam 122, Rizwan 73*) beat South Africa 203 for 5 (Markram 63, Malan 55, Nawaz 2-38) by nine wickets

Prior to the game, Rameez Raja asked Pakistan captain Babar Azam why Fakhar Zaman wasn't slated to open the batting for Pakistan. But in 18 record-breaking overs, Azam and Mohammad Rizwan provided an ideal answer, pummelling South Africa into submission because they chased down 204 at a canter in winning the third T20I in Centurion by nine wickets.

Azam surely got to his first T20I hundred off just 49 balls, two days after he took 50 balls to score as many runs, smashing 15 boundaries and four sixes on the way. It had been a shame he'd be dismissed seven runs shy of the mark, but at that time, Azam had romped to 122 off just 59 deliveries in one of the all-time great T20 innings. Rizwan, usually the aggressor among the pair, was the anchor in comparison, but by no means dawdled his way through, finishing with an unbeaten 47-ball 73.

Little South Africa did appeared to make a difference, though the hosts will feel they didn't nearly hit the bowling heights of their performance from the second T20I. They missed their lengths often enough, however in truth, even though they did, Rizwan and Azam were masterful at manipulating the field and finding runs where they seemingly weren't to be had. The pressure told, especially on Beuran Hendricks, who was simply carted around for 55 in his four overs.

Even Tabraiz Shamsi, South Africa's trump card in lots of ways, was oddly ineffectual, with Pakistan negotiating him adroitly without ever allowing him to stifle the scoring rate. Despite what had seemed a steep chase, when Pakistan finally did make it happen, it almost appeared to be South Africa were being released of their misery.

It seemed ages ago, however the same destruction was playing out in the first innings, though in reverse. On that occasion, it had been the pair of Janneman Malan and Aiden Markram, with the latter's 31-ball 63 being his third successive T20I half-century. Markram bossed the show, with South Africa speeding along to 140 inside 13 overs. In an essential passage of play, Pakistan commenced to reign them in during the final seven, a period where the hosts managed just 63. It still meant that they had inflicted after Pakistan the first total more than 200 since 2013, but Azam and Rizwan ensured it had been extremely scant consolation.

Early in the day, Azam had officially supplanted Virat Kohli as the No. 1-ranked ODI batsman. Down the road, he would celebrate that milestone by reminding everyone that he previously his eyes on that prize in T20Is too.

To many, the easy fact that the Pakistan captain had insisted after opening once again by pulling rank over the returning Fakhar Zaman was an outrage alone, and a throwback to a make of T20 cricket Pakistan stubbornly continued to play with little success. That time was further emboldened by his struggles in the next T20I, perhaps his weakest T20 performance to date. He had managed just 50, taking as much balls to make it happen, and Pakistan registered 140 on a pitch every bit as good as today before South Africa cruised to victory inside 14 overs.

But Azam was keen showing during a devastatingly effective hour of delightful T20 batting that it was only an exception. He was scoring with the strike rate of a power-hitter while seemingly taking as few risks as a middle-order batsman on day among a Test match - the very best of two worlds which has always seemed impossible to merge. You can sense the critics' knives sharpening as Pakistan took just eight off the first two overs, but as soon as Azam carved George Linde for just two boundaries in his third over, he found himself in a zone so extreme that it had been almost spooky. Every ball found the middle of the bat, every tiny gap in the field was geometrically exploited and every roll of the wrists was executed to perfection. South Africa were not so much blown away as surgically taken off a contest they felt they were well on top of.

The half-century came in 27 balls, but Azam would barely notice. Sisanda Magala went for six, and Lizaad Williams and Hendricks for in addition sixes, as Azam simply hurtled along, indifferent even to the asking rate. His only ceiling were the limitations he was setting himself, and generally of a beguiling hour, there have been none. Had he not nicked off to the wicketkeeper with seven runs to get, he could almost have already been sorry to see the target achieved - so easy did he find T20 batting.

In reality, most days will not be this easy. But also for a batsman who can hit those heights, it becomes easy to realize why he felt he needed to face as much deliveries as possible.

You will have few games where bat dominates ball quite as comprehensively as this, but when sides find themselves in one of these, any passing of supremacy for the bowling side may very well be magnified. Even though Azam and Rizwan seemed to have sufficient confidence to chase down almost anything, they were given a essential helping hand by the way Pakistan finished the South Africa innings with the ball.

Before end of the 13th over, South Africa sat pretty at 140 for 1, well set for a complete over 220. But Pakistan managed to take action South Africa were never in a position to achieve; they halted the hosts within their tracks with a couple of quick wickets. Linde and Malan were removed within five balls of each other, and Heinrich Klaasen couldn't quite find the fluency of the previous two games. The South Africa innings would peter out somewhat, with only 63 scored in the last seven. That doesn't quite be seen when the team total exceeds 200, but Azam and Rizwan were astute enough to pick up onto it and exploit it.