Key events
WICKET! Australia 52-1 (Fraser-McGurk c Salman b Rauf 20)
Haris Rauf comes into the attack. Short works him for two to bring up the fifty in just 3.1 overs, a record for Australia in T20 cricket. Pakistan are already in death-bowling mode, with lots of variations, and it has brought the first wicket.
Fraser-McGurk is hit in the gut by a slower ball, then swats a very short ball high over extra cover. Salman Agha backpedals to take an excellent catch; Fraser-McGurk goes for 20 from 9 balls.
3rd over: Australia 48-0 (Short 27, Fraser-McGurk 20) This is getting silly. Shaheen’s first ball is too short to Short, who wallops it over midwicket for six. A mistimed pull almost goes the distance as well, though in the end Short has to settle for four.
Shaheen switches to around the wicket and bowls two successive dot balls, both slower ones. Australia are slowing down too; they only managed 11 from that over.
2nd over: Australia 37-0 (Short 16, Fraser-McGurk 20) Short pulls Naseem Shah’s first ball into the crowd at midwicket. “Can someone tell our blokes this isn’t a seven-over game?” deadpans Mark Waugh on commentary.
Another short ball from Naseem is cut emphatically for four by Short. He has 16 from 5 balls, Fraser-McGurk 20 from 7. Crikey.
1st over: Australia 21-0 (Short 3, Fraser-McGurk 18) A flying start for Australia, with Shaheen’s first over disappearing for 21! Jake Fraser-McGurk hit three successive fours and then carted a spectacular six over wide mid-on. One of those fours involved a chance to Naseem Shah at third man; he dived forward, didn’t quite get to the ball and felt it slither under him to the fence.
Here come the players. There’s a big crowd at the SCG – not quite the reported sell-out, but enough to create a pretty good atmosphere. Shaheen Shah Afridi will open the bowling.
A happy 53rd birthday to Waqar Younis, the man who busted stumps for a living. This video is well worth a watch.
Weather watch
It’s a bit of a moody night in Sydney, but the forecast is for a dry night. We should get a full game.
Team news
Australia are unchanged. Pakistan bring in the left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem for Haseebullah Khan.
Australia Short, Fraser-McGurk, Inglis (c/wk), Maxwell, Stoinis, David, Hardie, Ellis, Bartlett, Johnson, Zampa.
Pakistan Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Rizwan (c/wk), Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Salman Agha, Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem.
Australia win the toss and bat
Mohammad Rizwan calls incorrectly and Josh Inglis is happy to bat first, as Australia did in the first T20.
Preamble
Rob Smyth
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the second T20 international between Australia and Pakistan in Sydney. The Brisbane weather turned the first game turned into a Seven7, won handsomely by Australia, but happily today’s forecast is much better so we should get a full game. Another win would give Australia the series with a match to spare.
The first T20I was notable for Glenn Maxwell’s hitting and a devastating new-ball burst from Xavier Bartlett (3 for 12) and Nathan Ellis (3 for 9). Bartlett has made an eye-catching start to his international career, taking 17 wickets at 9.23 across both white-ball codes. Australia will soon need a new pace attack across all three formats; Bartlett, Ellis and Spencer Johnson will be hoping to impress again tonight.
The match starts at 7pm AEDT.
