The second T20I between Australia and Pakistan held at Sydney on November 16, 2024, ended up being a close contest as the home team overhauled Pakistan by 13 runs to seal the T20I series 2-0. Australia survived a modest aggregate of 147 for 9, mainly due to an inspired effort from all its bowlers, particularly Spencer Johnson, who took 5 wickets to have Pakistan struggling to win, despite Usman Khan’s half-century effort and an exciting late revival from Irfan Khan.

A Game of Fine Margins

The affair promised to be an exciting one, as both teams had everything to play for in the Sydney T20I. However, a low-scoring thriller began soon after the explosive start to the game by Australia. Their bowling attack – led by Haris Rauf – put Pakistan back on their backfoot even before Australia’s blistering start, and it were their fielding lapses and batting woes that ultimately cost them the game. Australia, however, capitalized on the key moments, ensuring that they just did enough to hold onto the win and take the series.

Australia’s Modest Total and Pakistan’s Response

Australia began their innings at a lightning pace, as they were all set to post a huge total. Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk were aggressive from the beginning, with Short really punishing the Pakistani bowlers, hitting five fours and three sixes within the first few overs. By the time they reached 50 within just 3.1 overs, Australia looked on course to score a monumental score. This was the fastest Australia had ever reached 50 in a T20I.

However, Pakistan responded well through the middle overs. Haris Rauf, as he has so often done for Pakistan, was the man who brought them back into the game. His pace and bounce troubled Australia’s top order, and in the blink of an eye, Australia found themselves at 61 for 3. Rauf’s bouncer sent Jake Fraser-McGurk back to the pavilion, and Abbas Afridi’s slower ball got rid of Short, who had been looking dangerous.

Though Australian wickets were falling, some good partnerships were built. Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis scored some much-needed runs. Pakistan’s bowlers, comprising Rauf and Afridi, continued to chip away steadily, building pressure. However, fielding lapses, with missed chances, proved costly, as a dropped catch by Salman Agha off Rauf and a reprieve for Maxwell off Sufiyan Muqeem ensured Australia scored 147 for 9 by the end of their innings.

Pakistan’s Batting Troubles

Pakistan failed to make a good start to their chase. The initial overs saw them not being able to get the bat on the ball, with both Babar Azam and Sahibzada Farhan losing their wicket to reckless shots. Babar went while trying to flick to deep square leg and Farhan pullegged straight to deep mid-wicket as Pakistan got to 30 for 2 in the seventh over.

Mohammad Rizwan, usually a reliable man at the top, was found wanting. He was content to push singles and defended solidly but never looked like forcing the tempo. His struggle came to the fore when, after 26 balls, Rizwan had only managed 16 runs. It wasn’t until the tenth over that Pakistan hit their first boundary, a slog sweep from Rizwan off Spencer Johnson. However, the downward spiral for Rizwan continued, and he was dismissed in the very next over when he fell brilliantly to Tim David off Johnson’s return spell.

The asking rate was mounting, and Pakistan was in grave trouble. Even though Usman Khan came with a spirited knock of 52 off 43, and Irfan Khan came with lower-order resistance, Pakistan could not make up for the required run-rate. As much as the knock by Usman was something outstanding, by the time Usman went, Pakistan had lost too many wickets. Late surge by Irfan, including a 58-run partnership with Usman, raised hopes, but lack of support from the other end meant they remained below the threshold.

Spencer Johnson – The Showman

The best player of the day was Spencer Johnson of Australia, whose 5 wickets for 26 runs remained the turning point of the match. His early breakthroughs jolted Pakistan’s top order, and he continued to impress with his extra pace and bounce. Johnson’s spell saw Farhan and Rizwan gone, along with two key lower-order wickets, which made him the match-winner. He was spot on in bowling under pressure, especially in the death overs, which meant that Pakistan were not allowed to build any significant partnerships, and the game slipped away.

Adam Zampa provided support to Johnson extremely well as well, and he picked up 2 wickets for 19 runs. The clever variations and flight-infusing deceptiveness of Zampa played an important role in controlling the Pakistan batting order. The combined efforts by Johnson and Zampa stopped the momentum that Pakistan might have garnered in its chase by any substantial amount.

Key Takeaways

• Australia’s Resilience in the Field: Despite a small aggregate, Australia’s bowlers and fielders showed character. The lapses in the field by Pakistan cost them dearly, and Australia made proper use of the opportunities that came their way.

• Impact of Haris Rauf: Rauf was Pakistan’s best bowler, but a one-man show wasn’t enough for him to cross over the brink of the formidable Australian bowlers spearheaded by Spencer Johnson.

• Pakistan’s Missed Chances: Pakistan started miserably with the bat and failed to build any kind of partnership, thus leaving much to do in the backend. More importantly, the lack of intent in the powerplay overs and inconsistency in shot selection caught them in a bad position while chasing.

• The Resilience of Australia’s Top Order: The Australian openers set a magnificent platform and they still managed to post enough runs to protect their total even in the wake of the middle order’s self demise. The above outcomes were made possible due to the attacking approach adopted by Short and Fraser-McGurk right from the onset.

• The Fizzle of Pakistan’s Quick-Batted Innings: Rizwan and other key figures could not come to the fore when they were badly needed. It is halfway in the innings, Batting within the innings but stopping and hunting at the waves of fitna uwaks indeed applied so much pressure down the order and even to the lower Order.

Conclusion

In ODIS also, Australia not only managed to win a series, but also showed the extent to which they were stress adapted by defending a small total to win the second T20I by 13 runs. Credit should be given to their disciplined defense led by the bowling of Spencer Johnson, and it was poor batting as well as fielding that left Pakistan out in the cold.

Australia’s win showed teamwork at its best where each player delivered differently. And thereby, they prove why they are one of the strongest teams in T20I cricket. For Pakistan, quite a few takeaways from the series as far as early intent with the bat and fielding discipline is concerned. The series concluded with Australia as the deserved winner as they outplayed Pakistan in all key departments.

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