Glenn Maxwell’s quickfire knock, followed by a combined bowling effort, led Australia to a convincing 29-run victory over Pakistan in the rain-hit first T20I of the three-match series here at The Gabba on Thursday.
Chasing a daunting 94-run target in seven overs, Pakistan only managed 64/9.
The visitors had a decent start to the pursuit as they amassed 12 runs for the loss of one wicket in the first over.
The touring side then ran into a gruelling middle-order collapse – included the dismissals of key batters Babar Azam (3) and 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.
In a match that was reduced to seven overs per side, 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, made sure the dismissal did not halt the flow of runs for the home side and 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.
