Maxwell and the Pacers Lead Australia to a commanding 1-0 Series Advantage

Glenn Maxwell's blazing knock as well as brilliant bowling from the pace attack of Australia, the home team went up 1-0 in the T20I series at the Gabba. In fact, due to heavy rain and electrical storms and the match being called off, the teams, Australia batted first and scored a hundred and two runs 4a wickets in seven overs.

As expected, Jake Fraser-McGurk came out aggressively from the very first ball after Pakistan chose to bowl. He hit back-to-back boundaries off Shaheen Afridi in the opening over, with Matthew Short capping it off with a six. Pakistan thought they had a breakthrough when Fraser-McGurk was dismissed at cover in the second over, but Glenn Maxwell entered with clear intent, expertly using the reverse scoop and striking Naseem Shah for four boundaries as Australia raced to 33 in just two overs. However, Haris Rauf, who had troubled Maxwell in recent days, regained control with an excellent over, conceding only three runs and taking the key wicket of Short.

Maxwell continued to dominate from the other end, delivering some stunning shots, including a remarkable reverse sweep for six off Shaheen Afridi over third man. He then took on Rauf, hitting him for two sixes in an over. However, Abbas Afridi put an end to Maxwell's brilliance, dismissing him and also deceiving Tim David with a slower ball in the same over. Despite this breakthrough, Pakistan’s hopes of finishing the innings strongly were dashed by Marcus Stoinis. In the final over, bowled by Naseem, Stoinis struck a boundary down the ground before finishing the innings with a six and a four, propelling Australia past the 90-run mark.

Despite Sahibzada Farhan beginning the chase with consecutive boundaries off Spencer Johnson, the pacer had the last word, dismissing the opener just two balls later. Xavier Bartlett made an immediate impact, striking on his first delivery as Mohammad Rizwan could only manage a leading edge, which was caught at backward point. Usman Khan had a couple of wild swings before finally finding the middle of the bat, but his brief moment of relief was quickly ended when Bartlett claimed his wicket as well.

The score quickly went from 16/3 to 16/5 as Nathan Ellis stunned the visitors, starting with his signature slower ball to dismiss Babar Azam. Irfan Khan followed with a mistimed shot, departing for a two-ball duck. By that point, the chase was effectively over, with Abbas Afridi managing to slightly reduce the deficit with a couple of powerful shots.