BRISBANE: Brilliant pace bowling and Maxwell’s heroics led Australia to a commanding victory over Pakistan in the rain-affected first T20I here at The Gabba on Thursday.
While chasing a massive 94-run target in seven overs, Pakistan managed 64-9, losing by a margin of 29 runs.
The visitors had a horrible start to the run-chase as they lost six wickets in 3.2 overs with only 24 runs on the board. None of the top six batters managed to reach the double figures.
Haseebullah Khan (12) and Abbas Afridi showed some resistance with a 23-run stand for the seventh wicket before the former fell prey to Nathan Ellis.
Adam Zampa bowled Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah off the final two balls to seal Australia’s victory. Abbas remained unbeaten on 20 off 10 which featured two fours and one sixes.
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Earlier, Maxwell (43) and Stoinis (21) displayed brilliant power hitting to take Australia to 93-4 in seven overs against a formidable pace attack of Pakistan.
For the unversed, due to the rain and thunderstorms, the match was reduced to seven overs.
Australia, after being invited to bat first by the Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan, struck 16 runs in the first over, however, Jake Fraser-McGurk (9) fell prey to Naseem Shah on the first ball of the next over.
Glenn Maxwell joined Matthew Short and smashed four boundaries to Naseem, taking Australia’s total to 33-1 in two overs.
Haris Rauf forced Pakistan’s comeback after two expensive overs as he gave away only three runs and removed Matthew Short (7).
Squads for Pakistan-Australia T20I series
Australia: Josh Inglis (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Josh Philippe, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Abbas Afridi, Agha Salman, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Irfan Khan, Jahandad Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan.
