Australia took a 1-0 lead in the T20I series against Pakistan at the Gabba. Glenn Maxwell’s explosive batting and the strong performance of Australia’s pace attack sealed the victory. Rain and lightning reduced the match to seven overs per team, but Australia posted a massive total of 93/4. This total proved to be too much for Pakistan, who struggled throughout the chase.
Maxwell’s Hero
Jake Fraser-McGurk started the innings aggressively after Pakistan chose to bowl first. He caught Shaheen Afridi in successive boundaries in the first over. Matthew Short finished with six runs to set a strong tone for Australia. Fraser-McGurk was dismissed early in the second over but Glenn Maxwell entered with intent. He used the reverse scoop effectively to smash Naseem Shah for four boundaries as Australia posted 33 runs in just two overs.
Maxwell continued his attack on the Pakistan bowlers. He reverse-sweeped Shaheen Afridi to take a stunning 6-over 3. Later, he showcased his aggressive style by firing two sixes in one over off Haris Rauf. Abbas Afridi eventually broke up Maxwell’s innings and fooled him with a slower delivery. However, Marcus Stoinis ensured Australia had a strong performance. In the final bowled by Naseem Shah, he hit a boundary and hit another six and a four to help Australia cross the 90-run mark.
Sarfaraz Khan faces injury risk ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024
Pakistan’s struggle to respond
Pakistan started their chase with Sahibzada Farhan hitting back-to-back boundaries off Spencer Johnson. But Johnson struck back quickly, dismissing Farhan just two balls later. Xavier Bartlett made an immediate impact by taking the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan off the first ball. Pakistan’s situation worsened as Usman Khan soon fell.
The visitors found themselves at 16/3 and quickly emerged at 16/5 when Nathan Ellis took control. He dismissed Babar Azam with his trademark slow delivery, leaving Irfan Khan for a duck off his second ball. At this point it looked like the chase for Pakistan was all but over.
Despite the dire circumstances, Abbas Afridi provided some entertainment with a few powerful shots in the latter half of the innings. However, it was not enough to change the outcome of the game as Australia won comfortably by 29 runs.
Stay updated and follow us on all the cricket action. Yoon Kyung to WhatsApp, Facebook, twitter, telegram, and Instagram
