Australia registered a close 13-run win over Pakistan in the second T20I of the three-match series played at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney. The Australian showcased a brilliant bowling effort after being restricted to a below par score while batting first and ended up on the winning end. Australian pacer Spencer Johnson picked up a fifer which helped the hosts secure a win over the Pakistani side. However, the start of the match was an explosive one when Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short smashed 52 runs in a matter of just 3.4 overs.
However, Haris Rauf put the much needed break on the Australian innings when he dismissed both Jake Fraser-McGurk (20) and Josh Inglis in quick succession. From here the Australian team was never able to continue the much needed pace in the match. While Rauf kept on taking wickets, Sufiyan Muqeem and Abbas Afridi joined the party with them. While Muqeem ended up picking two wickets, Abbas Afridi ended the innings with three wickets. Rauf was the pick of the bowlers with a four-wicket haul. In the end, Aaron Hardie played a cameo of 28 runs from 23 balls which helped the hosts put up a score of 147/9 in 20 overs.
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Chasing down the target, Pakistan Babar Azam and Sahibzada Farhan in quick succession for 17 runs. Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett were the ones who drew the first two bloods for Australia. Mohammad Rizwan couldn’t hold on the crease and fell against Johnson. Agha Salman’s stay at the crease was also limited and got out against Spencer Johnson. Pakistan were 44/4 at one stage after 9.3 overs. Usman Khan and Irfan Khan Niazi tried to stable down Pakistan’s innings and added 58 runs off 35 balls for the fifth wicket. Usman scored a half century but was dismissed for a score of 52 runs whereas Irfan remained unbeaten on 32 runs. The Pakistani lower order totally collapsed and at the end, they were wrapped up for a score of 136 runs falling short of the target by 13 runs. Spencer Johnson shined in the match with the ball and scalped a fifer.
