BRISBANE: In a rain-hit T20I series opener, a dominant Australia secured victory by 29 runs after the bowlers sparked a Pakistan batting collapse in the rain-hit first T20I of the three-match series against Pakistan 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, Glenn Maxwell’s blitzing powered Australia to a formidable total of 93 in first T20I.
In a match that was reduced to seven overs per side, Pakistan’s captain Rizwan won the toss and put Australia into bat.
