Australia defeat Pakistan by 29 runs in first rain-hit T20I

BRISBANE: A dominant Australia inflicted a 29-run defeat on Pakistan in the rain-hit first T20I of the three-match series at The Gabba on Thursday.

The Men in Green only managed to score 64/9 in pursuit of a daunting 94-run target in seven overs.

The visitors had a decent start as they amassed 12 runs for the loss of one wicket in the first over.

Pakistan then ran into a disastrous middle-order collapse, including the the dismissals of key batters Babar Azam (3) and captain Mohammad Rizwan (0), and were consequently reduced to 20/5 in three overs.

Xavier Bartlett, who picked up two wickets in his first over, dismissed Salman Ali Agha (4) to keep Pakistan under pressure. The right-arm pacer recorded brilliant bowling figures of 13/3 in his quota of two overs.

Coming out to bat at No.8 with the visitors reeling at 24/6 in 3.2 overs, Abbas Afridi offered a notable fightback against the momentum-filled Australian bowling attack with an unbeaten 20-run cameo.

His efforts, however, were not enough to steer his side over the line as Pakistan succumbed to a 29-run defeat in the series opener.

Nathan Ellis led the bowling charge for Australia with astounding figures of 3/9 in two overs, while Adam Zampa bagged two wickets.

Earlier. belligerent hitting by Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis helped Australia to set a 94-run target for Pakistan. 

Following a rain delay, the match was reduced to seven overs per side, with a two-over powerplay. Two bowlers can bowl two overs, while three bowlers can bowl one over apiece.

Pakistan’s captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and put Australia into bat.

The hosts came out all guns blazing with openers Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short scoring 16 runs off the first over, bowled by ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Naseem Shah drew first success for Pakistan by dismissing Fraser-McGurk, nine off five, on the first delivery of his spell.

But Maxwell, promoted to bat at No.3, dominated the proceedings despite Short’s departure in the third over.

The hard-hitting batter eventually fell victim to Mohammad Abbas in the penultimate over, which also saw the ouster of Tim David (9) as Australia slipped to 73/4 in six overs.

Maxwell remained the top-scorer for Australia with a 19-ball 43, laced with five fours and three sixes.

Marcus Stoinis then smashed Naseem for 20 runs in the final over and bolstered Australia’s total to 93/4 in the allotted seven overs.

The right-handed batter remained unbeaten with a seven-ball 21, which featured two fours and a six.

For Pakistan, Abbas bagged two wickets, while Shaheen and Naseem shared two between them.

Pakistan on Sunday thumped Australia in the third and final ODI to win the three-match series — the first won by the Green Shirts on Australian soil in 22 years with the last 50-over series win coming back in 2002.

Additionally, it is worth noting that Pakistan are playing their first match since their dismal ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, which saw them crashing out from the group stage of the tournament for the first time due to their gut-wrenching defeats against the United States and arch-rivals India.

Australia, on the other hand, are fresh from a 3-0 routing of Scotland and a 1-1 stalemate against fierce rivals England.

Playing XI

Pakistan: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (c/wk), Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan, Salman Agha, Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haseebullah Khan, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah

Australia: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short, Josh Inglis (c/wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Aaron Hardie, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson