Australia crush Pakistan in truncated T20 clash

Australia’s Glenn Maxwell plays a shot during the first Twenty20 international match against Pakistan at the Gabba in Brisbane yesterday. (AFP)

Veteran batter Glenn Maxwell returned to form before quicks Xavier Bartlett and Nathan Ellis took three wickets each as Australia beat Pakistan by 29 runs in a truncated T20I series opener in Brisbane yesterday.
The match was reduced to a contest with seven overs per team after a delayed start due to heavy rain and lightning.
After Maxwell’s 43 from 19 balls propelled shorthanded Australia to an imposing 93-4, Pakistan’s batting order collapsed under the lights to finish well short at 64-9.
Ellis and Bartlett, both of whom have made successful returns from recent injuries, led an aggressive attack.
It was a resounding performance from an Australian team lacking several top players, who are gearing up for the upcoming blockbuster Test series against India.
“We had almost packed our bags because we thought we wouldn’t have a game,” Maxwell said. “We definitely had a lot of fun there.”
The series takes place tomorrow at the Sydney Cricket Ground before the final in Hobart on Monday.
“It’s difficult to keep things normal in this type of match because it happened so quickly,” Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan said.
Under the revised playing conditions, bowlers were not allowed to bowl more than two overs each in a match that started more than two hours later than scheduled due to thunderstorms that hit Brisbane in recent days.
Pakistan were buoyed after a recent surprising 2-1 ODI series win that ended a 22-year drought against the Australians in Australia. But after new T20 captain Rizwan opted to bowl, Pakistan’s in-form fast bowlers were under siege against Australia’s aggressive batters who were going for broke.
Openers Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matt Short set the tone by smashing 16 runs in the first over.
Fraser-McGurk (9) fell to the first ball in the second over of quick Naseem Shah before Maxwell took over with four boundaries in his first six deliveries.
Maxwell’s inventiveness came to the fore when he smashed the in-form quick Haris Rauf, his tormentor in the ODI series, for a huge six over deep midwicket.
The 36-year-old looked headed for a half-century before losing to pacer Abbas Afridi in the sixth over.
All-rounder Marcus Stoinis finished the Australian innings strongly with an unbeaten 21 from seven balls.
In response, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan signaled his intent with consecutive boundaries off left-arm quick Spencer Johnson to begin the innings.
But he fell two balls later after missing a short shot and Pakistan’s chase quickly nosedived.
BRIEF SCOREAustralia 93 for 4 (Maxwell 43, Stoinis 21*, Afridi 2-9) beat Pakistan 64 for 9 (Afridi 20*, Ellis 3-9, Bartlett 3-13) by 29 runs.