BRISBANE, Australia — Glenn Maxwell’s impressive 43 runs off just 19 deliveries played a pivotal role in Australia’s decisive 29-run victory over Pakistan in a rain-affected first Twenty20 match on Thursday.
Following a nearly three-hour halt prompted by inclement weather, the game was revised to seven overs per team. Maxwell led Australia to a total of 93-4, while the Pakistani side could only manage 64-9 in response, faltering to a staggering 16-5 in just the first 15 balls of their innings.
Nathan Ellis and Xavier Bartlett were the standout bowlers, claiming three wickets each, with Ellis conceding only 9 runs and Bartlett giving away 13. Abbas Afridi, batting at number 8, managed to score an unbeaten 20 runs, but the top order crumbled under pressure. “I certainly had a lot of fun out there,” Maxwell remarked after the match. “We believed we had set a competitive total, and our bowlers executed their plans excellently. Many of us were ready to accept the game would be called off, so there was quite a frantic rush to prepare.”
Maxwell dramatically bounced back from his disappointing performances of 0, 16, and 0 in the preceding one-day international series, which Pakistan won 2-1. He showcased his explosive batting with three sixes and five fours, particularly unleashing a flurry of lap shots against the fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah. His innings came to an end in the penultimate over, where he hooked a delivery from Abbas Afridi to backward square leg. Marcus Stoinis, however, ensured a strong finish for Australia, contributing an unbeaten 21 runs off just seven balls, including a spectacular 20 runs off one over from Shah with two boundaries and a six.
Pakistan’s batting lineup struggled significantly, with none of the top six batsmen managing to score in double figures. Sahibzada Farhan began promisingly against Spencer Johnson, hitting two boundaries off his first two balls but soon misjudged a pull shot, leading to his dismissal at midwicket. In a dismal first outing as captain, Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed without scoring on the very first ball, top-edging a catch to point off Bartlett’s delivery. Usman Khan followed quickly, caught out at third man in the same over.
Ellis proved a formidable threat, taking the key wickets of Babar Azam and Irfan Khan in his first over, with both falling victim to catches in the deep. At one stage, Pakistan found themselves in a precarious position at 24-6 in the fourth over, with Salman Ali Agha managing only 4 runs in his debut T20, falling to a sharp delivery from Bartlett, which was caught by Josh Inglis.
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa put the finishing touches on a brutal innings for Pakistan by clean-bowling Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah off consecutive deliveries in the final over, sealing a comprehensive defeat. “In a seven-over match, it’s challenging to maintain a normal approach,” Rizwan said afterward. “Maxwell’s style was effective, and we have to give him credit for that.”
The next T20 match will take place in Sydney on Saturday, with the series concluding in Hobart on the following Monday.