Australia vs Pakistan: Second Twenty20 International – Live | Australia cricket team

8th over: Australia 71-3 (Maxwell 9, Stoinis 7) This should be fun: left-arm wrist-spinner Sufyan Muqeem is going to bowl. And he has Stoinis dropped third ball! He reverse-hoicked a poor delivery towards short third man where Shaheen set up a diving chance. It wasn’t easy, but he really should have taken it.

Maxwell cuts a boundary through the covers, the first since the third over. At that point, Australia were 47 for 0 from 2.3 overs. Things have changed.

7th over: Australia 64-3 (Maxwell 4, Stoinis 5) The Australian commentators are excited about Abbas Afridi. He is a sizeable unit who hits the pitch hard and at pace; he also grunts like a tennis player every time he drops the ball.

Stoinis tries to cut and is beaten by some extra pace. “Love his energy,” says David Warner. “His energy at the crease is incredible.”

There is a little too much energy on the next ball, an attempted slower ball that goes miles down the leg side. It has only just landed on the track. Despite the width, it’s another really good run which ends with a slower ball that completely fools Maxwell. He misses it completely and shakes his head.

After the shaky start, Afridi and Haris have taken three for 16 in four overs.

6th over: Australia 61-3 (Maxwell 3, Stoinis 4) Stoinis is lost first ball! He fenced Haris Rauf to first slip where Salman Agha got a very simple chance.

Haris is on fire and has a big LBW appeal dismissed two balls later. He wants to go upstairs, but Rizwan overrules him; it looked a bit high and the replays show there was an inside edge as well. Still, this is blistering, game-changing stuff from Haris: 2-0-9-2. And he should have three wickets.

5th over: Australia 56-3 (Maxwell 2, Stoinis 0) Um, who the hell is on top when the team batting first is 56 for 3 behind five over? Steven Stern, are you out there?

WICKED! Australia 56-3 (Short b Afridi 32)

4.5 overs: Australia 56-2 (Short 32, Maxwell 2) Abbas Afridi continues Pakistan’s mini-revival, conceding four singles from his first five balls. He almost takes a wicket when Maxwell heads the ball into his net and up into the air. Rizwan charges towards the leg well, dives forward but can’t quite reach the ball.

There is a break in the game while Maxwell has a concussion.

4th over: Australia 52-2 (Short 30, Maxwell 0) Haris Rauf: 1-0-4-2. The rest: 3-0-48-0.

WICKED! Australia 52-2 (Inglis c Muqeem f Rauf 0)

WICKED! Australia 52-1 (Fraser-McGurk c Salman f Rauf 20)

3rd over: Australia 48-0 (Short 27, Fraser-McGurk 20) This is getting stupid. Shaheen’s first ball is too short to Short, who knocks it over midwicket for six. A mistimed move almost goes a long way too, although Short eventually has to settle for four.

Shaheen switches to around the wicket and bowls two consecutive dotted ballsboth slower. Australia also slows down; 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 guys this isn’t a seven-over game?” Deadpan’s 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, med Shaheen’s first over disappears in the 21st over! Jake Fraser-McGurk hit three consecutive fours and then drove a spectacular six over broad mid-on. One of those fours involved a chance for Naseem Shah at third man; he dived forward, didn’t quite reach the ball and felt it slide 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 opens the bowling.

Happy 53rd Birthday to Waqar Younisthe man who chopped stumps for a living. This video is worth watching.

Weather clock

It’s a bit of a moody night in Sydney, but the forecast is for a dry night. We should get a full match.

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Australia win the toss and bat

Preamble

Rob Smyth