Pakistan sealed the T20I series against Australia with a dominant 90-run victory in the second match on Saturday, powered by half-centuries from Salman Agha and Usman Khan and a devastating spin attack that bowled Australia out cheaply.
Pakistan produced a commanding all-round performance to thrash Australia by 90 runs and seal a 2-0 series victory, marking their third consecutive T20I series win at home and their first-ever bilateral T20I series triumph over Australia.
Half-centuries from Salman Agha and Usman Khan laid the foundation for a strong batting effort, before spinners Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan dismantled the Australian chase with three wickets each.
Opting to bat first, Pakistan were given early momentum by Saim Ayub, who attacked from the outset despite the early loss of Sahibzada Farhan in the second over. Salman Agha joined the assault immediately, taking the attack to Matt Kuhnemann and powering Pakistan through a productive PowerPlay that yielded 72 runs.
Australia struck back when Adam Zampa once again got the better of Babar Azam, trapping him leg-before for the fifth time in T20Is. Ayub also fell late in the PowerPlay, briefly slowing Pakistan’s progress. However, Agha soon shifted gears again, bringing up a fluent half-century and punishing Australia’s seamers and spinners alike.
Agha’s innings of 76 ended in the 13th over, but Usman Khan and Shadab Khan ensured the momentum was not lost. Regular boundary hits in the death overs pushed Pakistan to an imposing 198 for 5, despite Australia managing to limit the damage at times.
Australia’s response unravelled quickly against Pakistan’s spin attack. Both openers were dismissed in quick succession, triggering a collapse from which the visitors never recovered. While Cameron Green attempted resistance, wickets continued to tumble at the other end as Abrar and Shadab applied relentless pressure.
Josh Inglis and Matt Renshaw fell leg-before to spin, Cooper Connolly was bowled, and Green’s counterattack was halted midway through the chase. Matthew Short offered some late resistance, but Australia were bowled out for 108 in the 16th over.
The series underlined Australia’s struggles against spin, with all ten wickets in the match falling to Pakistan’s slow bowlers. Across the series, 16 of Australia’s 18 dismissals came against spin.
Brief Scores:
Pakistan 198/5 (Salman Agha 76, Usman Khan 53)
Australia 108 (Cameron Green 35, Matthew Short 27)
Pakistan won by 90 runs
