Australia defeated Pakistan by 13 runs in the second T20 match to clinch the series.
In the match played in Sydney, Australia batted first after winning the toss. They scored 147 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their 20 overs. Australian openers played aggressively, taking the team’s score to 52 runs within the first three overs. However, Matthew Short scored 32, and Jake Fraser-McGurk made 29 before getting out. Captain Josh Inglis was dismissed for a duck.
Other contributions came from Glenn Maxwell (21), Marcus Stoinis (14), Tim David (18), Aaron Hardie (28), and Xavier Bartlett (5). From Pakistan’s side, Haris Rauf took 4 wickets, Abbas Afridi claimed 3, and Sufiyan Muqeem took 2.
Pakistan faced early setbacks while chasing the 148-run target Opener Babar Azam scored only 3 runs, Sahibzada Farhan managed 5, captain Mohammad Rizwan added 16, and Agha Salman was dismissed for a duck.
Before the match, Australian captain Josh Inglis said they aimed to win and secure the series. Pakistani captain Mohammad Rizwan, on the other hand, mentioned that their goal was to level the series. He also shared that one change was made to the playing XI, with Sufiyan Muqeem replacing Haseebullah Khan.
Haris Rauf achieved a milestone in this match by becoming the joint-highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in T20 cricket. He equaled Shadab Khan’s record of 107 wickets. Haris achieved this feat in just 74 matches at an average of 20.36, while Shadab needed 104 matches. Shahid Afridi ranks third with 97 wickets in 98 matches, followed by Shaheen Afridi with 96 wickets in 72 matches, and Saeed Ajmal with 85 wickets in 64 matches.
To summarize, Australia set a target of 148 runs and successfully defended it to seal the series victory.
