Pakistan Vs Australia Highlights, 1st T20I: Saim Ayub Powers Men In Green To 22-Run Win

Hello cricket fans! We are back with the live coverage of the 1st T20I between Pakistan and Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Stay tuned for the live score and play-by-play updates of the match.

Though the 1st T20I between Pakistan and Australia will be telecast in India, is is likely that it'll streamed live on the Sports TV YouTube channel from 4:30pm IST.

Australia: Mitchell Marsh(c), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Josh Inglis(w), Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Owen, Ben Dwarshuis, Xavier Bartlett, Adam Zampa, Sean Abbott, Mahli Beardman, Matt Renshaw, Cameron Green, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Philippe, Jack Edwards, Cooper Connolly

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Salman Agha(c), Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan(w), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq, Khawaja Nafay, Naseem Shah

The weather at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore will stay pleasant and sunny with no chances of rain.

Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bat first against Australia.

Australia: Travis Head (c), Matthew Short, Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe (wk), Jack Edwards, Xavier Bartlett, Adam Zampa, Mahli Beardman

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Salman Agha (c), Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed

Drama straight away in Lahore! Xavier Bartlett is gifted a wicket off the very first ball as Sahibzada Farhan chips his mistimed drive straight back to him. An utterly soft dismissal accounts for the Pakistan opener, but his partner Saim Ayub smashes the first delivery he faces for a handsome six. Some start to the innings, this.

PAK: 8/1 (1)

Pakistan have not let the early setback go their heads, with Saim Ayub (33 not out off 16) and Salman Agha (22 not out) off the blocks really quickly. Ayub, in particular, is in the mood, having cracked three fours and two sixes to propel the run rate over nine at the end of the powerplay.

Adam Zampa has immediately made his presence felt in the match as he gets his second wicket in consecutive overs. Skipper Salman Ali Agha tries to loft the ball for a six only to find the long on fielder. Pakistan lose their 3rd wicket and Fakhar Zaman comes to the crease to join Babar Azam.

PAK 86/3 (9.2)

Pakistan are having a mini-collapse here. Fakhar Zaman dismissed after a sluggish innings of 10 off 16 balls. Xavier Bartlett gets the southpaw caught off Cameron Green. Mohammed Nawaz joins Usman Khan on crease for the last five overs.

PAK 142/5 (16)

Pakistan's innings end at 168/8 in 20 overs setting a target of 169 for Australia. They got to a flying start courtesy Saim Ayub's blistering strat. Adam Zampa was the pick of the bowlers for Australia, scalping four key wickets of Pakistan.

PAK 168/8 (20)

Travis Head and David Short have got Australia off to a decent start in the first over. Pakistan will have to get early wickets to make a match out of it otherwise AUS will take the match away from the home team in the powerplay itself.

10/0 (1)

Pakistan have been able to make early inroads in the Australian batting line-up courtesy of Saim Ayub tricky bowling. However, Australian have been able to maintain good run-rate but still have a long way to go.

AUS 44/2 (5)

Australia have put 80 runs on the board in 10 overs with a healthy run-rate of 8 runs per over but they are also four wickets down. Cooper Connolly was the last batter to be dismissed who was castled by Abrar Ahmed for a duck.

AUS 80/4 (10)

Pakistan are seizing control of the match when it matters. They send back Mitchell Owen, Cameron Green and Jack Edwards in quick succession to leave Australia seven down and the asking rate over 11.

The ask gets too much for Australia in the end. They crawl to 146 for eight in 20 overs, giving Pakistan a handy 22-run win in the opener. The Men In Green came up with a splendid display with the ball, using their four-spinner battery to great effect.

Saim Ayub is named Player of the Match for his all-round display: a 22-ball 40, followed by two wickets. Here's what he had to say at the post-match presentation: "The conditions were a little bit challenging. Plan was to dominate against the new ball. I knew that if we bowl the good length ball consistently, it's not easy to hit."