Overview:
Bartlett added two scalps to his bowling figures while Mahli Beardman was also among the wickets, claiming two wickets from his four overs.
Pakistan batters struggled in the first T20I against Australia on January 29. The batters couldn’t time the ball on the slow surface of Lahore, with no one posting a fifty for the host nation. Despite missing several leading team players, the Aussies kept things tight and restricted the Men in Green to 168/8 in the allotted 20 overs.
The visitors gave debuts to three players in the absence of regular members of the team and managed to dismiss opener Sahibzada Farhan on the first ball of the match, bowled by Xavier Bartlett. Captain Salman Ali Agha and Saim Ayub played attacking cricket and added 74 runs for the second wicket. Salman hit three fours and 2 sixes in his knock of 40 runs off 22 balls, while Ayub posted 39 runs off 27 deliveries, including 4 maximums and 1 four. Adam Zampa dismissed both the batters.
Babar Azam, who has been retained in the side, tried to put the rivals under pressure but Zampa got the better of him, with the star batter amassing 24 off 20, packed with 1 four and 1 six.
Fakhar Zaman (10 off 16) was demoted in the batting order, and it impacted his performance. Usman Khan (18 off 14) was unable to trouble Australia for a long time. Two senior pros Shadab Khan (1) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (0) disappointed with the bat. Mohammad Nawaz (15 off 14) remained unbeaten in the end.
Zampa was superb with the ball, picking up four scalps and conceding just 24 runs from his four overs. Bartlett added two scalps to his bowling figures while Mahli Beardman was also among the wickets, claiming two wickets from his four overs.