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South Africa cricketer George Linde on Tuesday, December 10 revealed shocking details after winning the Player of the Match award for his all-round performance in the opening T20I against Pakistan. The South Africa international, who returned to the national side after a gap of three years, three months and two days, played a crucial knock, hitting 48 off 28 ball and finished with four wickets in his four-over spell.
After his brilliant performance in the first T20I, the 33-year-old revealed that he was marred by late arrival. While he missed the bus, he was escorted by police vehicle to his destination, the Kingsmead in Durban.
My phone was 15 minutes behind time: George Linde on missing team bus
Speaking after winning the Player of the Match award in the first T20I against Pakistan, Linde said, "For some reason my phone was 15 minutes behind time. I had thought to myself, 'OK, at four o'clock I'm going to walk down and I'm going to get into the bus nice and early. And then as I came out of the team hotel I saw the bus leaving, and that feeling was not great.”
“Luckily there were police escorts and they took me to the bus. Actually, no one realised I wasn't on the bus, which was actually quite cool. It was embarrassing, but I reckon for the next game I might just be late again!" he further added, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Watch George Linde share his experience of missing team bus ahead of first T20I vs PAK:
The 33-year-old also spoke of his performance with the bat and ball as he stood out to guide the side to 11-run win in the first T20I and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. “Almost a perfect comeback game apart from the hat-trick ball. I have played quite a lot of cricket, have had a pretty good season so far, tried to keep calm and ask myself what the team needs,” he said after the game.
The two sides will next lock horn on Friday, December 13 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion in the second T20I of the three-match series. With the final T20I scheduled on December 14, South Africa will then host Pakistan for three-match ODI series, followed by two Tests.
