END OF OVER:20 | 11 Runs 2 Wkts | AUS: 136/8 (12 runs required, RR: 6.80)
- Andrew Tye2 (1b)
- Adam Zampa0 (0b)
- Shaheen Shah Afridi4-0-35-2
- Hasan Ali4-0-32-0
11.40pm That's it from us for this second T20I. Pakistan were the dominant team, and though Maxwell, and later Coulter-Nile, injected some excitement in the chase, Australia were always playing catch-up. When Pakistan batted, it seemed like they had been a little sluggish, but their bowlers were outstanding. Imad Wasim gave up only 8 runs in 4 overs, and the Australian batsmen were tied down from the start. By the time Maxwell found his groove, the asking rate had soared. Pakistan have now won the series, and the final T20I will be a dead rubber. This is Saurabh Somani, signing off on behalf of Sreshth Shah.
11.31pm Imad Wasim is the Man of the Match. "I've been doing it for a while, I enjoy bowling in the Powerplay. Today's wicket was different to Abu Dhabi, it was supporting spinners. I've been working really hard, even when I was out of the team. Credit goes to Azhar Mahmood as well (bowling coach), I've been working with him. I knew they weren't going to attack me, because they had six wickets left, so I thought I'll flight it. If the batsmen are hitting me with hard hands, I try to bowl slow, otherwise I stick to my basics."
Aaron Finch: "We were probably just a bit tentative in the Powerplay. Being six down last game, we tried to be conservative. And when Pakistan put the squeeze on you, it can get tough. They are No.1 for a reason. We'll come out in Game 3 and give it our best. All the chatter around was around the wicket and our positive intent. We allowed them to bowl a lot of dot balls, the pressure built and the run-rate goes from 7 to 9 pretty quickly."
Sarfraz Ahmed: "It's not easy to win 10 series on the trot in the T20 format. The way we have played and improved has been very good. We have improved batting, bowling and fielding, and our management and selection committee deserves credit. We have given confidence to all our players. I was confident of Shaheen bowling the last over, he may be inexperienced but he showed that he has the capacity to be a big bowler. He bowled well in a tough situation. The spinners are also doing well. Imad's arrival had brought good balance, and all the bowlers are doing really well, spinners as well as pacers. My strategy was to bring Hasan in in the fifth or sixth over, but seeing the pitch, I thought he'd work better later on that's why I brought him on late. I felt we played too many dot balls while batting, if we cut that down then we can get to 160-170. We'll try to give those on the bench a go in the last game."
Dr.Tahir: "Its really sad that there is no T20 WC this year. I would love to see this Pakistan T20 side play in a T20 World cup. It would have been some task beating them too. "
Mustafa Moudi: "None of Aus batsman had a S/R higher than 100 other than these 2, Specially the top 3 consumed 24 Balls(4 overs) extra than what they scored. Definitely, The main reason for their loss !!"
NM Coulter-Nile c Asif Ali b Shaheen Shah Afridi 27 (17b 0x4 3x6) SR: 158.82
16 needed off 3 balls, but the batsmen have crossed. Coulter-Nile needs some more clubbed sixes
GJ Maxwell c Shoaib Malik b Shaheen Shah Afridi 52 (37b 4x4 2x6) SR: 140.54
23 needed off the last over, Shaheen to bowl. Sarfraz in his ear, Hafeez coming up with advice, they're all clustering around the youngster.
END OF OVER:19 | 10 Runs | AUS: 125/6 (23 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 6.57, RRR: 23.00)
- Glenn Maxwell52 (36b)
- Nathan Coulter-Nile18 (13b)
- Hasan Ali4-0-32-0
- Shaheen Shah Afridi3-0-24-0
These two have raised the 50-run stand in quick time. But the required rate is still high
Fahad Zahoor: "Living in australia for last 10 years I've been closey attached to the donestic circuit, the thing that led to no more back up players in the dtand is the lack of interest in cricket by the youth, majority of them are more keen to play for footy rather cricket and one of my work mate's reckon it's becuase of the sponsors and Broadcasters. "
Waleed Zahoor : "From his rollicking debut series in 2012 against Pak, to his 2014 exploits in the desert part of IPL, to that final maiden over against Pakistan, I think it's safe to say Maxwell is the king of UAE regardless of the win/loss ratio."
33 needed off 12 balls. Still with Pakistan you'd think, but then Maxwell's there
END OF OVER:18 | 10 Runs | AUS: 115/6 (33 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 6.38, RRR: 16.50)
- Glenn Maxwell50 (33b)
- Nathan Coulter-Nile10 (10b)
- Shaheen Shah Afridi3-0-24-0
- Hasan Ali3-0-22-0
Anon06: "It's not only about back-ups being ordinary. It's the first choice players too. Just 10-15 yrs ago there were players averaging 50-60 in Shield that simply couldn't get a spot in the test side because of the quality of the lineup. Players like Hodge, David Hussey, and others could've been int'l legends but just couldn't get a chance or long run.Now they're selecting players with mid 30 averages because they "had a couple good seasons." Back then, ppl have good careers without being selected."
END OF OVER:17 | 13 Runs | AUS: 105/6 (43 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 6.17, RRR: 14.33)
- Glenn Maxwell43 (29b)
- Nathan Coulter-Nile9 (8b)
- Hasan Ali3-0-22-0
- Shadab Khan4-0-30-2
fine leg is up