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AUS vs PAK 2nd T20I Highlights: Spencer Johnson’s Five-Wicket Haul Leads Australia To T20I Series Win vs Pakistan

Jatin

Spencer Johnson ran riot with the ball [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/x.com]Spencer Johnson ran riot with the ball [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/x.com]

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Australia trounced Pakistan by 12 runs in the second T20I in Sydney on Saturday. With this win, the home side pocketed the series with a game to go and successfully managed to avenge their defeat from the ODI series.

Here’s the timeline of how AUS vs PAK 2nd T20I panned out in Sydney.

AUS vs PAK 2nd T20I Highlights: Aussies Start Strong but Pakistan Bounces Back Hard

Australia won the toss, chose to bat, and their openers came out set from the dressing. Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short wasted no time and hammered Pakistan for 52 runs in just the first 19 balls. Short was especially brutal, cracking boundaries with ease, while Fraser-McGurk backed him up in style.

AUS vs PAK 2nd T20I Highlights: Haris Rauf Turns the Game Around

Then came Rauf, and with his very first over, he flipped the script. He picked up Fraser-McGurk for 20 and took out Aussie skipper Josh Inglis for a duck. Suddenly, Australia’s red-hot start hit a major roadblock.

Abbas Afridi added to Pakistan’s momentum by removing Short, who had smashed 32 off 17 balls. From there, Australia couldn’t recover that spark they had at the start.

AUS vs PAK 2nd T20I Highlights: Pakistan’s Bowlers Tighten the Grip

Without their openers firing, Australia’s middle order couldn’t pick up the pace. Left-arm wrist spinner Sufyan Muqeem did his job brilliantly, squeezing the Aussies with his tight spell of 2/21 in four overs. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s fielders had a few slip-ups, but the bowlers kept control.

Aaron Hardie tried to get things moving with a late push, scoring 28 off 23 balls, but it was too little to hit a big total. Australia barely crawled past the 145 mark.

AUS vs PAK 2nd T20I Highlights: Top Order Tumbles Early

The chase began on a sour note as Babar Azam departed for just 3, falling to Xavier Bartlett. Things went from bad to worse when Sahibzada Farhan followed suit, scoring only 5 before being sent back.

Captain Mohammad Rizwan struggled to find his rhythm and was dismissed after a scratchy 16 off 26 balls. He was eventually dismissed by Johnson and the pressure was mounting. To make matters worse, Agha Salman departed for a golden duck, leaving Pakistan in a spot of bother at 44/4.



AUS vs PAK 2nd T20I Highlights: Middle Order Holds Strong but Can’t Finish

Enter Usman Khan and Irfan Khan. With Pakistan reeling, the duo set about rebuilding the innings. Usman was particularly impressive, rotating the strike and finding the boundary just when it was needed. His 52 off 38 balls brought some much-needed stability, but his dismissal at the hands of Spencer Johnson was a turning point.

After Usman’s wicket, Johnson returned with fire, picking up Abbas Afridi to complete his five-wicket haul. Pakistan’s lower order was in tatters, and it looked all but over. In the 17th over, Azam Zampa dealt the final blows by removing both Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah for ducks, putting the Aussies firmly in control.


Despite the odds, Irfan Khan fought on, smashing shots around the park to get Pakistan close to the finish line. But with the target just out of reach, Pakistan’s chase ended 13 runs short, with Rauf getting runout on the fourth ball of the final over as the visitors were bowled out for 134.