Pakistan will face Australia in the first T20I of the three-match series in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Both teams have already faced off in the five-day format where the home side came on top 1-0 in the two-match series, courtesy of a 373-run win Abu Dhabi Test. The series will be an important one for both teams as Australia can overthrow Pakistan from the top spot in ICC T20I rankings if they manage to complete series sweep.
In their last 20-over assignment, the Men in Green registered an impressive Tri-Nation triumph in Zimbabwe, where they defeated Australia in the final, courtesy of brilliant knocks from Fakhar Zaman and Shoaib Malik. In the batting department, the home side will be banking on in-form opener Zaman alongside veteran all-rounders Malik and Mohammad Hafeez to do bulk of the scoring, whereas in the bowling department, the onus will be leg-spinner Shadab Khan and pacer Hasan Ali to restrict the opposition.
On the other hand, Kangaroos will be desperate to turn things around after a disappointing Test series and will be looking for a much better show in the shorter format. In the batting department, the team will be depending on captain Aaron Finch, Chris Lynn and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell to destroy the opposition's bowling unit with their attacking display, whereas in the bowling department, likes of Andrew Tye, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Adam Zampa will share the burden.
Sheikh Zayed Stadium is located in Abu Dhabi. The highest score at the venue in 20-over
Pakistan will face Australia in the first T20I of the three-match series in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Both teams have already faced off in the five-day format where the home side came on top 1-0 in the two-match series, courtesy of a 373-run win Abu Dhabi Test. The series will be an important one for both teams as Australia can overthrow Pakistan from the top spot in ICC T20I rankings if they manage to complete series sweep.
In their last 20-over assignment, the Men in Green registered an impressive Tri-Nation triumph in Zimbabwe, where they defeated Australia in the final, courtesy of brilliant knocks from Fakhar Zaman and Shoaib Malik. In the batting department, the home side will be banking on in-form opener Zaman alongside veteran all-rounders Malik and Mohammad Hafeez to do bulk of the scoring, whereas in the bowling department, the onus will be leg-spinner Shadab Khan and pacer Hasan Ali to restrict the opposition.
On the other hand, Kangaroos will be desperate to turn things around after a disappointing Test series and will be looking for a much better show in the shorter format. In the batting department, the team will be depending on captain Aaron Finch, Chris Lynn and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell to destroy the opposition's bowling unit with their attacking display, whereas in the bowling department, likes of Andrew Tye, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Adam Zampa will share the burden.
Sheikh Zayed Stadium is located in Abu Dhabi. The highest score at the venue in 20-over format is of 225-7, which was registered by Ireland while playing against Afghanistan in 2013-14, whereas the lowest score of 87 was registered by Hong Kong while playing against Oman in 2016-17.
Key players
Shadab Khan – 9 Cr
First in the list of key players features Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan. The right-arm leggie is one of the most consistent performers in this format for the Men in Green. The 20-year-old has so far played 23 T20Is for the Green Caps, where he has claimed 32 wickets at an average of 18 and strike-rate of 16. Valued at 9 Cr, Khan can be an excellent purchase keeping in mind that he is a genuine wicket-taker and Australia generally have a hard time in dealing with spinners.
Aaron Finch – 10.5 Cr
Second in the list of key players features the Australian captain, Aaron Finch. The 31-year-old is one of the leading batsman in the 20-over format where he has already played 43 matches for his country and has 1,597 runs to his name at an average of 44.36 and strike-rate of 160.66. Those numbers suggests that Finch, who is valued at 10.5 Cr, is an ideal player to have in your team.
Fakhar Zaman – 9.5 Cr
Third in the list of key players features Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman. The 28-year-old will be coming into this match after scoring back-to-back half-centuries in the Abu Dhabi Test. So far, Zaman has represented Pakistan in 22 T20Is, claiming 646 runs to his name at an average of 30.76 and strike-rate of 143.55.
