Maxwell Shines as Australia Crushes Pakistan in Rain-Hit T20I

Australia Outplays Pakistan in Rain-Shortened T20I at The Gabba

BRISBANE: Australia clinched a solid 29-run victory over Pakistan in a rain-affected first T20I at The Gabba on Thursday, taking an early lead in the three-match series.

With the match reduced to seven overs per side, Pakistan won the toss and opted to field. Australia started strong, as openers Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short scored 16 runs off the first over against Pakistan’s pace spearhead, Shaheen Shah Afridi. Naseem Shah brought a breakthrough by dismissing Fraser-McGurk (9 off 5), but Glenn Maxwell, promoted to No.3, kept the scoring rate high. Maxwell was the standout, smashing 43 off 19 balls with five fours and three sixes before getting out in the penultimate over.

Despite losing a few wickets, Marcus Stoinis capped off Australia’s innings with a quickfire 21 off just seven balls, including two fours and a six, propelling Australia to a challenging 93/4 in their seven overs.

In response, Pakistan struggled to keep up with the required rate. They started with 12 runs in the first over but soon hit trouble, losing key players Babar Azam (3) and Mohammad Rizwan (0) early. By the third over, Pakistan had crumbled to 20/5. Australia’s bowlers were relentless, with Xavier Bartlett claiming two early wickets and finishing with impressive figures of 3/13, while Nathan Ellis led with 3/9 in his two overs.

Abbas Afridi showed some resilience for Pakistan, hitting an unbeaten 20, but with wickets falling rapidly, Pakistan finished on 64/9, well short of the target. This decisive win gives Australia a 1-0 lead in the series.