42 balls, 94 runs—due to rain, the match was reduced to 7 overs, making the target a hefty one for Pakistan. On top of that, Pakistan’s T20 lineup doesn’t have any real hard-hitters. Even Babar Azam couldn’t step outside his usual playing style to make a big impact.
In the first T20 of the series at Brisbane, Pakistan lost by 29 runs. Almost all their batters were back in the pavilion within the 7-over chase, finishing at 64/9. With this win, Australia leads the 3-match series 1-0.
Chasing 94 in 7 overs, Pakistan started with some hope. Sahibzada Farhan hit two boundaries off the first two balls, but the opener got out on the fourth ball of the over. From there, Pakistan’s batters seemed to come and go in quick succession. Within the first three overs, they had lost 5 wickets for just 20 runs.
After that, the match was mostly a formality. None of Pakistan’s top six batters reached double figures. Captain Rizwan was dismissed for a duck, and Babar managed only 3 runs. The highest scorer for Pakistan was pacer Abbas Afridi, who made 20 off 10 balls. Nathan Ellis took 3 wickets for just 9 runs in his 2 overs.
Earlier, after losing the toss and being put in to bat, Australia scored 16 runs off Shaheen Shah Afridi’s first over, followed by 17 more off Naseem Shah’s next. Despite the early dismissal of Jack Fraser-McGurk on the first ball of Naseem’s over, Australia managed to score 17 runs in that over. Glenn Maxwell played a key role, hitting four boundaries, including a reverse sweep on the first ball of the innings. His aggressive start set the pace for Australia’s innings.
Maxwell, who struggled in the ODI series, scored a quick 43 off 19 balls. Marcus Stoinis also contributed with 21 off 7 balls, adding crucial runs, including 20 in Naseem’s final over. Naseem conceded 37 runs in his 2 overs, while Haris gave away 21 and Afridi 25 in their 2 overs each.
Score Summary:
- Australia: 94 in 7 overs (Maxwell 43, Stoinis 21; Afridi 1/9, Rauf 1/21)
- Pakistan: 64/9 in 7 overs (Afridi 20*, Haseebullah 12; Ellis 3/9, Bartlett 3/13)
