Pakistan opt to play in shortened T20I series opener vs Australia

Text size

Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and elected to bowl in a truncated first of a three-match T20I series against Australia in Brisbane on Thursday.

The match will be reduced to a seven overs per side contest after a delayed start due to heavy rain and lightning.

Two bowlers can bowl two overs and three can bowl one each.

After a surprise 2-1 win in the recent three-match ODI series, Pakistan are chasing a rare double in Australia as they return to cricket’s shortest format for the first time since their early exit in June’s T20 World Cup.

After leading his team to their first series win against the Aussies in Australia in 22 years, Rizwan has also taken over the reins of the T20 team after Babar Azam stepped down last month.

A short-handed Australia are without several top players as they prepare for the upcoming blockbuster Test series against India.

Wicketkeeper batsman Josh Inglis, who captained Australia for the first time in the third ODI against Pakistan, will take the reins for the entire series in the absence of skipper Mitchell Marsh, who is on paternity leave.

Team

Australia: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short, Josh Inglis (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Aaron Hardie, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson

Pakistan: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (c/wk), Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan, Salman Agha, Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haseebullah Khan, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah

Referees: Donovan Koch, Phillip Gillespie

TV Referee: Shaun Haig

Referee of the match: David Boon

tel/dhw