Captain Salman Ali Agha led from the front with his explosive 76 off 40 balls to power Pakistan ahead. Salman Ali Agha looked determined and dominated the Australian bowling from the time he came to the crease. His 76 complimented with Usman Khan’s half-century and Shadab Khan’s cameo powered Pakistan to a massive 198/5 in 20 overs which was 30-40 above par on that pitch.
While defending the score, Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan picked up 3 wickets apiece while Usman Tariq picked up 2 wickets as the spinners of Pakistan had a field day with the ball as Australia struggled against them with Nawaz and Saim Ayub also picking up a wicket. All 10 wickets fell to the spin of Pakistan. Pakistan won by 90 runs to clinch series 2-0 with a game to spare.
Salman Ali Agha & Usman Khan’s electrifying half-centuries powers Pakistan to 198/5
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub came out to bat for Pakistan while Xavier Bartlett took the new ball for Australia. Pakistan was quick off the blocks with Ayub scoring bulk of the runs while Farhan stayed at the other end. The opening duo put on 17 for the first wicket before Farhan fell for 5 off 5 balls with one boundary to his name to Matthew Kuhnemann as it was another low score for the right-hander.
Captain Salman Ali Agha came out to bat next and was off the blocks quickly as he meant business from the word go. Ayub was complimenting him well as the duo went all guns blazing in the powerplay after Farhan got out. Salman mentioned that Number 3 is his batting position in T20 side and he was justifying that to perfection. The duo put on 55 for the second wicket off 25 balls with Agha the dominant partner before Ayub fell for 23 off 11 balls with 4 fours to his name. Babar Azam came to bat inside the powerplay. The powerplay score was 72/2 in 6 overs.
Babar did not hang around for long as for the addition of 4 runs to the score, Babar fell for 2 off 5 balls adjudged plumb in front to Adam Zampa. Keeper batter Usman Khan joined his captain Salman Ali Agha in the middle. Salman continued his merry ways while Usman gave him good company at the other end. Pakistan slowed down a bit after the powerplay but maintained a healthy run rate. Usman played at the right tempo while Salman was at his best and showed his class completing his half-century and making a significant contribution as well.
The duo put on an important 49 runs off 34 balls with Agha being the dominant partner before Salman’s innings was cut short on 76 off 40 balls with 8 fours and 4 sixes to his name as Sean Abbott picked up his wicket. Shadab Khan came out to bat next with 7.1 overs to go. Usman and Shadab joined forces to build a partnership and go big as the Aussies struggled with lines and lengths with the ball.
The duo played into the death overs phase and made the most of the situation and showed how batting is done in T20 cricket. The duo put on an unbelievable 63 runs off 39 balls with Usman scoring bulk of the runs while Shadab played his part as the score went past 180 for Pakistan. With 4 balls to go in the innings, Usman went after completing his half century as he fell for 53 off 36 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Xavier Bartlett. Mohammad Nawaz came into bat with 4 balls left in the innings.
Nawaz hit two boundaries off the three balls he faced and remained unbeaten on 9 off 3 balls with 2 fours to his name while Shadab Khan was unbeaten on 28 off 20 balls with one four and 2 sixes to his name as Pakistan ended with a mammoth 198/5 in 20 overs. Just 2 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a tough day for the Australian bowlers. Each of the bowlers picked up a wicket each. Adam Zampa was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 1/27 in 4 overs. Cooper Connolly finished with 1/30 in 4 overs. Matthew Kuhnemann finished with 1/40 in 4 overs. Sean Anthony Abbott finished with 1/33 in 3 overs. Xavier Bartlett finished with 1/52 in 4 overs. Matthew Short’s only over went for 16 runs. This meant that Australia needed a mammoth 199 runs to win the contest in 20 overs to level the series 1-1.
Abrar Ahmed & Shadab Khan’s 3-wicket hauls skittled Australia out for 108 in 15.4 overs
Chasing 199 for the win, captain Mitchell Marsh came out to open the batting with Travis Head while Naseem Shah took the new ball for Pakistan. Marsh was quickly off the blocks while Head did not face that many deliveries in this partnership. Marsh scored the bulk of the runs and looked decent while he was there as the opening duo put on 22 runs for the first wicket before Marsh fell for 18 off 14 balls with one four and two sixes to his name. Cameron Green came out to bat next.
Travis Head soon followed his partner back to the hut as he fell for 4 off 5 balls with one boundary to his name as he was cleaned up by Saim Ayub. Keeper batter Josh Inglis came out to bat next. Inglis did not last long either as 7 runs were added to the tally before the keeper batter fell for 5 off 6 balls with one boundary to his name to Abrar Ahmed.
Matt Renshaw came out to bat with the score at 29/3 in 4.3 overs. Green was doing the bulk of the scoring while Renshaw was a mere spectator at the other end. The powerplay finally ended with Australia at 48/3 in 6 overs. The duo tried to form some sort of partnership as they put on 24 for the 4th wicket before Renshaw fell for 2 off 5 balls LBW to Mohammad Nawaz. Cooper Connolly came out to bat next.
Connolly did not last long as just for the addition of one run, he fell for 1 off 4 balls clean bowled by Shadab Khan. Matthew Short came to the crease with the score at 54/5 in 7.3 overs and reeling at that moment. Green and Short tried to build a stand and rebuild things for Australia but the match was long gone by now. The duo added 22 runs for the 6th wicket before the set batter Cameron Green fell for 35 off 20 balls with one four and two sixes to his name to Usman Tariq.
Xavier Bartlett came out to bat next to join Short in the middle with the game firmly in Pakistan’s grip. The duo tried their best and added 22 runs for the 7th wicket before Bartlett fell for 10 off 9 balls with one six to his name to Shadab Khan. Sean Abbott came out to bat next. Shadab had two in two balls as Abbott fell for a golden duck clean bowled by Shadab. Matthew Kuhnemann came out to bat with the score at 98/8 in 14 overs.
Just 6 runs were added to the score as the 100 came up for Australia before Short fell for 27 off 23 balls with 3 fours to his name to Abrar Ahmed as the 9th wicket fell for 104 in 14.5 overs. Adam Zampa came out to bat next. Zampa managed to get 3 off 3 balls as 4 more runs were added to the tally before Kuhnemann was the last man out for 2 off 4 balls to Usman Tariq as Australia were skittled out for 108 in 15.4 overs with Zampa remaining unbeaten on 3 off 3 balls. Just one extra given by the fielding side.
The Pakistan spinners had a ball out in the field. Shadab Khan finished with 3/26 in 4 overs. Abrar Ahmed was great with his 3/14 in 3 overs. Usman Tariq chipped in with 2/16 in 2.4 overs. Mohammad Nawaz finished with 1/11 in 2 overs. Saim Ayub finished with 1/32 in 3 overs. Naseem Shah bowled an over for 9 runs. So, Pakistan thrash Australia by 90 runs and seal the series 2-0 with one game to spare. Salman Ali Agha the captain was adjudged the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
Pakistan have sealed the series 2-0 with one game to go in the 3-match series. The next game will take place tomorrow Sunday 1st February, 2026 from 4:30 PM IST at the same venue in Lahore. Can Australia avoid the whitewash? Or will Pakistan inflict one? Find out the answer tomorrow in Lahore.
Also Read: PAK vs AUS: Saim Ayub’s All-Round Show Helps Pakistan Draw 1st Blood In Series