Glenn Maxwell went wild with the bat, then Xavier Bartlett ripped apart Pakistan’s top order as Australia dominated a seven-over Gabba Twenty20 slog to win by 29 runs.
Lightning and heavy rain reduced Thursday’s series opener in Brisbane to a seven-overs-a-side contest, and it was one-way traffic as soon as Maxwell (43 off 19) strode to the crease. His brazen innings featured boundaries to all corners of the ground, before Marcus Stoinis chimed in with 21 off seven balls, including 10 off the final two balls of the innings as Australia finished on 93 for four. The visitors could only muster 64 for nine in their allotment as Australia took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Pakistan had bossed the hosts in their last two 50-over contests, losing just three wickets combined on their way to an impressive series win. But their batsmen came unstuck on Thursday, Queensland’s Bartlett (three for 13) taking two wickets in a four-run second over to set the tone. He got Mohammad Rizwan with his first delivery, the captain’s ambitious slog sweep backfiring to put Pakistan on the back foot.
Nathan Ellis (three for nine) was just as effective, taking two for four in the next over as the visitors slumped to 16 for five.
Bartlett’s third wicket was the icing on the cake, the 25-year-old now with nine wickets in five T20 internationals. Adam Zampa then got in on the action, taking two wickets in the final over that began with Pakistan needing 41 for victory.
Maxwell entered the match with scores of 0, 16 and 0 in Australia’s 50-over series loss. He reverse paddled his first delivery for four, one of a quartet of boundaries in his first six deliveries. The Victorian flushed another reverse paddle that went over the head of the man on the rope and narrowly missed an unsuspecting spectator in the third row.
Maxwell then heaved a six over mid-wicket and another over mid-off from Haris Rauf’s second over, racing to 40 off 15. A frenetic innings was halted by a well-aimed Abbas Afridi bouncer, Maxwell hurried as he found the man on the rope.
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Earlier, opening pair Matt Short (seven) and Jake Fraser McGurk’s (nine) lean runs at international level continued. McGurk, who clipped his first two balls to the boundary, threw his head back in disgust after drilling a catch to point.
Game two is in Sydney on Saturday, with Hobart to host the final fixture on Monday.
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