DUBAI – Pakistan defeated Australia by 11 runs in the second Twenty20 International in Dubai on Friday.
The Greeenshirts have won the three-match series by 2-0. This is Pakistan’s 10th straight Twenty20 series win. They have not lost since Sarfraz Ahmed became captain of the team.
After winning the toss, Sarfraz’s men managed to score 147/6 in the stipulated 20 overs. Babar Azam was the top scorer with 45 runs which included three boundaries. Hafeez made 40 runs off 34 deliveries with the help of three fours and two maximums.
Faheem Ashraf and Shoaib Malik made 17 and 14 runs respectively. Nathan Coulter-Nile picked up three wickets for Australia.
Australia fell 12 runs short of the target as they managed to score 136/8 in their 20 overs. Glenn Maxwell was the top scorer with 52 runs from 37 balls which included four boundaries and two sixes.
Nathan Coulter-Nile made 27 runs while Mitchell Marsh chipped in with 21 runs.
Imad Wasim was the pick of the bowlers as he finished with 1/8 in his four overs with a maiden to his name. He bowled with an economy of two runs per over. Shaheen Afridi and Shadab Khan picked up two wickets each.
Imad Wasim was named Player of the Match for his performance of the ball. The dead rubber third Twenty20 game will be played on Sunday in Dubai.
Currently, team Pakistan have topped position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 ranking and they will have to win at least one match to retain their first position in ICC global rankings.
Australia, who beat Pakistan in the group match of the tri-series played in Zimbabwe, need to win 3-0 if they want to jump from their current third position to the top.
Team Pakistan, in Sarfraz’s captaincy, won 25 matches out of 29 T20 games. On the other hand, Pakistan and Australia played 18 T20 matches whereas Pakistan won 10, Australia 7 and one match got tied.
Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hassan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf
Australia: Aaron Finch (captain), Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.
