AUS vs PAK 2024/25, Australia vs Pakistan 2nd T20I, Sydney Match Report, Nov 16, 2024

Australia 147 for 9 (Short 32, Rauf 4-22, Abbas Afridi 3-17, Muqeem 2-21) won Pakistan 134 (Usman 52, Irfan 37*, Johnson 5-26, Zampa 2-19) by 13 runs

It looked like it would be a race fest, but then it turned into a low-scoring thriller. In a changing T20I in Sydney, Australia adapted better than Pakistan, keeping their cool to defend a modest total of 147 and claiming a 13-run victory, which gave them the T20I series.

Spencer Johnson was the star of the show with 5 for 26, taking wickets at the top and at the end and keeping Pakistan locked in, but he had plenty of support from his teammates in a disciplined bowling effort. It was matched by a first inning in which six batters reached double figures, and the cameo group ensured the batters gave their pitchers enough to work with.

Pakistan looked like they were on course for a drubbing when Australia reached 50 in 3.1 overs, the fastest they have ever reached the mark in a T20I. But Pakistan, inevitably led by Haris Rauf, counterattacked through the middle. However, their fielding errors proved costly and, in a game with good margins, that proved to be one of the points of difference between the teams.

They will also lament his lack of intent from the start with the bat. Pakistan limped through the first half of the innings and left a lot to do in the end. Usman Khan, who scored his first T20I half-century, and Irfan Khan put a punch to get within 13 runs of victory but could not do enough to undo the damage of the first part of the innings.

Australia made sure to do enough things better than Pakistan and in that sense, they ended up being worthy winners.

The escape and uncontrolled descent

Australia started the game as if inspired by India’s batting spectacle against South Africa on Friday. Shaheen Afridi was bowling at goal like he was feeding a slot machine, and Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk were delighted to do so. Naseem Shah also failed to keep him out of the crease, and 15 balls into the game, Australia had accelerated to 47, having already hit five fours and three sixes.

As Pakistan learned during the white-ball tour, when in doubt, give the ball to Rauf, and that worked again. He was the only man who could stop the slide and it didn’t take him long. A quick bouncer that Fraser-McGurk couldn’t beat and dived towards the cover fielder drilled Australia, before an edge sent Josh Inglis on his way.

Abbas Afridi, who bowled beautifully throughout the innings, hit the slower ball to dismiss Short and suddenly it was an even contest. After the first 15 balls of the powerplay leaked 47 runs for no wicket, only 14 were scored in the last 21 balls, with Australia’s top three behind.

Pakistan sloppy on the field again

Pakistan tend to take one of their most famous traits in every game and turn the dial up to 11. Sometimes it’s unpredictability, other times it’s speed bowling. Today, they opted for comedic ineptitude in the field for which they have earned a reputation.

The warning signs were there from the first step, which was when Naseem made a mess at the top edge of Fraser-McGurk, and things only got worse from there.

Salman Agha bowled Marcus Stoinis off Rauf, while Shaheen recovered Glenn Maxwell off Sufiyan Muqeem in the eighth over. Rauf fielded a fine effort off Naseem that went for four, while Babar Azam bowled Tim David before the batsman got ten runs off the next three balls. Those were just the highlights and, in a low-scoring game, everything counted.

Pakistan’s powerless game

Pakistan looked at the way Australia had been dragged back and perhaps thought “this won’t happen to us”. It wasn’t to be, because they never managed to advance at the end of the innings in the first place. They lost Babar (a flick to deep square leg) and Sahibzada Farhan (a straight delivery to deep midfield) to careless bowling, but for much of the first nine overs, there were hardly any attempts to hit a boundary.

Mohammad Rizwan struggled during a particularly curious innings in which he was happy with dot balls or pushing the ball for singles. It was not until the tenth over that a boundary was finally hit off the bat when Rizwan cleared his front leg and swept Johnson over cow corner to pick up four.

But Rizwan attempted the same shot with the next ball, only to miss and David made a magnificent diving catch. At the time, the requested interest rate was approaching ten, and Pakistan’s seniors had written checks that they unfairly expected those lower in rank to pay.

Johnson brilliance

When Johnson began the innings with an open down delivery that reached five, and followed it with an open off delivery that would have done the same had the first slip not been brilliant, any comparison with the other Johnson, Mitchell, would only have done the same. It belonged to the phase of his career that generated the unfortunate chant of “he throws left, he throws right.” But it didn’t take long for the South Australian to change his fortunes, controlling his high pace and beautifully exploiting lateral movement to slice through Pakistan.

Farhan’s soft dismissal was just the beginning, and Pakistan suffered in the intervening periods, and that was telling.

Rizwan fell to Johnson’s return spell before Salman fell the next ball, leaving Pakistan’s ultra-long tail one wicket away from being exposed. As Usman and Irfan put together a 58-run stand, it was once again Johnson who struck, taking two more in an over when his extra pace saw Usman bowl a shot in the air before Abbas was similarly dismissed. He allowed Adam Zampa’s double wicket to effectively seal the game despite the presence of Irfan.

Danyal Rasool is Pakistan correspondent for Pak Gazette. @danny61000