Pakistan beat Australia by 22 runs in the T20I series opener at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.
Chasing a decent 169-run target for victory, Australia managed to reach 146/8 in the allocated 20 overs.
Cameron Green was the top scorer for the visitors, who made 36 off 31 balls, hitting two fours and two maximums. Xavier Bartlett made an unbeaten 34 off 25 balls, laced with three fours and two maximums. Skipper Travis Head contributed 23 off 13 balls, Matt Renshaw 15 off 11 balls, and Josh Philippe 12 off 10 balls.
Saim Ayub and Abrar Ahmed bagged two wickets each, and Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz one each, while Matt Renshaw and Mitchel Owen were run out. Saim Ayub was named player of the match for his valuable contributions with the bat and ball.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Pakistan reached 168/8 in their quota of 20 overs.
Opener Saim Ayub was the highest scorer for the Green shirts with 40 off 22 balls, laced with three fours and two maximums. Skipper Salman Agha contributed 39 off 27 balls, hitting one four and four maximums.
Babar Azam made 24 off 20 balls with the help of one four and one maximum, wicket-keeper batter Usman Khan 18 off 14 balls, Mohammad Nawaz an unbeaten 15 off 14 balls, and Fakhar Zaman 10 off 16 balls.
Adam Zampa bagged four wickets while Xavier Bartlett and Mahli Beardman took two wickets each.
Pakistan Playing XI: 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Salman Agha (capt), 5 Fakhar Zaman, 6 Usman Khan (wk), 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Salman Mirza, 11 Abrar Ahmed
Australia Playing XI: 1 Travis Head (capt), 2 Matt Short, 3 Cameron Green, 4 Matt Renshaw, 5 Cooper Connolly, 6 Mitchell Owen, 7 Josh Philippe (wk), 8 Jack Edwards, 9 Xavier Bartlett, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Mahli Beardman
