Sports
Pakistan’s middle-order problems laid bare in opening T20 win over Australia
Pakistan’s middle-order problems fail to go away and were laid bare by Australia’s second-string bowling attack, which included two debutants, in the first T20I on a sunny afternoon in Lahore on Thursday.
They hosts eventually posted 168-8, which was enough for a 22-run victory, but their middle order will need to step up in the next two matches — their last competitive fixtures before the Twenty20 World Cup.
Among the 12 full-member nations that play Test cricket, the combined average of Pakistan batters from numbers four to seven of 19.68 is the second-worst and their strike rate of 121.85 is the third-worst since the conclusion of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan have named six specialist batters — including wicketkeepers Usman Khan and Khawaja Nafay — and all of them have made their careers by batting in top-three.
There is a notion in this Pakistan dressing room that batting orders in T20 cricket should be fluid. That’s how most of the successful T20 teams operate in leagues and even in international cricket nowadays. Such luxury, however, is only afforded to those who possess batters who have the ability to bat across different phases of an innings.
Pakistan made a bold call by slotting captain Salman Ali Agha, at number three, where his numbers have been phenomenal — a strike rate beyond 165 with an average of 35.40 before this match. Though Salman had looked to establish himself at number three when he was handed the reins of the side, he had to relinquish that spot after Babar Azam was recalled into the side following the Asia Cup.
Thursday was the first time that Salman came out to bat after the fall of the first wicket with Babar also in the line-up. And following his steady knock of 39 off 27 — which stabilised Pakistan after Sahibzada Farhan handed an easy return catch to Xavier Bartlett on the first ball of the innings — the management and selectors would be happy with Salman to continue at the position.
The purpose of this series, after all, is to nail their combinations, something the Pakistan captain alluded to in the pre-series press conference. And that Pakistan now has a reliable number three in Salman and, as such, locks their top-order ahead of the T20 World Cup will give relief to Pakistan.
Saim Ayub started his innings with a towering six off Bartlett and went on to make 40 off 22, in which he punished the Australian debutants Jack Edwards and Mahli Beardman when they erred in their lines. This was his highest score in the last nine T20I innings and was much needed after he had an underwhelming BPL.
Saim and Salman scored at 10 an over and Pakistan seemed on course to post a total in excess of 190 until both fell in a span of 10 balls to Adam Zampa. What followed was the familiar scoring rate woes for Pakistan with Babar and Fakhar Zaman — the two batters struggling for runs of late — at the crease together.
Pakistan scored at 9.44 by the end of the ninth over and their run-rate fell over the next overs to 9.20 in the 10th, 9.18 in the 11th, 9.16 in the 12th, and to 8.84 in the 13th.
Already under the weight of intense scrutiny, Babar, coming in the 10th over, largely struggled to time the ball. It took him 17 balls to go beyond the scoring rate of run-a-ball, which he did with a classy drive over mid-off’s head, but he soon fell trying to reverse sweep against Zampa after he had hit him for a six.
It has been a while since Fakhar has lived up to the expectations. The highest he had scored in the last three innings was five and he struggled to score runs in the ILT20, where he accumulated 260 runs in 12 innings, 69 of which came in a single innings.
With Nafay — a hard-hitting, but another top-order batter — warming the bench, the merits of batting Babar (24 off 20) and Fakhar (10 off 16) bat at number four and five have come under scrutiny. Nafay was brought into Pakistan’s T20I set up earlier in the month for his power-hitting abilities and he proved his selection right with a 15-ball 26 in a 12-over shootout in Dambulla.
Designated finishers Usman, Mohammad Nawaz, and Shadab Khan failed to provide their side the whirlwind closure to the innings as Pakistan managed only a six and a four in the 19th and 20th overs respectively as they could add only 31 more runs in the last five overs.
The total that Pakistan set in the end proved to be enough as Australia, missing Mitch Marsh, Josh Inglis, Tim David, and Glenn Maxwell, provided little resistance.
Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed, who took two wickets, indicated the presence of dew towards the end of the second innings.
In the next two matches and during the T20 World Cup, Pakistan will have to dew-proof their scores. And for that, their middle order would have to bat better.
Header image: Pakistan’s players celebrate after the dismissal of Australia’s Cooper Connolly during the first Twenty20 international cricket match between Pakistan and Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on January 29. — AFP
The Pakistan cricket team on Monday arrived in Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin on February 7.
In a post on X, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that a 15-player squad had arrived in the country.
“The 15-player national squad includes Captain Salman Ali Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Naeef, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan, and Usman Tariq,” the PCB said in an earlier post, the informed of the squad’s department for the global event’s venue.
In the latest update about the aquad’s arrival in Colombo, the board said the team would rest on Monday and Tuesday.
“The team will play a warm-up match against Ireland on Feb 4,” PCB added.
The T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is set to begin on Feb 7.
On Sunday, the government gave the go-ahead for Pakistan’s participation in the tournament, but barred it from playing against arch-rival India on February 15.
The announcement came amid uncertainty regarding a possible boycott of the tournament over Bangladesh’s withdrawal following tensions with India.
A government source told Dawn that Pakistan had refused to play against India to express solidarity with Bangladesh. According to the government source, the primary reason for boycotting the match with India was the ICC’s “biased decision” towards Bangladesh.
BULAWAYO: India completed the semi-final line-up for the ICC Under-19 World Cup with a comprehensive 58-run win over Pakistan in Bulawayo on Sunday.
The victory in the final Super Six match at the Queens Sports Club means the Indian colts head into the knockouts unbeaten and as Group 2 toppers.
After a late surge helped them to 252 in 49.5 overs, India put in a clinical performance in the field to dismiss Pakistan for 194 in 46.2 overs.
India joined Australia, England and Afghanistan into the final four. The Ayush Mhatre-led side face Afghanistan in the semi-finals in Harare on Wednesday. The first semi-final, between Australia and England, takes place in Bulawayo on Tuesday.
Put into bat, India powered past 250 thanks to the acceleration provided by the lower order in the last 10 overs.
With a spot in the semi-final on line, India were expecting another blockbuster innings from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Though the left-hander gave the team a brisk start, striking five fours and a six as he motored to 30, he was living dangerously. After two close calls, Sooryavanshi fell to a shorter delivery from Mohammad Sayyam, with a bottom-edge carrying to wicket-keeper Hamza Zahoor.
Starting with Sooryavanshi, India lost three and in the space of four balls. While Sayyam also dismissed India captain Ayush Mhatre, Abdul Subhan bowled over opener Aaron George to reduce India to 47-3.
In their previous match in Bulawayo, India had scored a mammoth 352-8 against Zimbabwe. But on Sunday, the ball wasn’t coming on to the bat as well and stayed low. Vedant Trivedi led India’s fightback with 68. His 62-run fourth-wicket partnership with Vihaan Malhotra (21) helped steer India clear of immediate trouble. Trivedi also put on handy stands with Abhigyan Kundu and RS Ambrish.
After the middle order had kept the scoreboard ticking, the lower order provided the late flourish. Kanishk Chouhan (35 off 29) and Khilan Patel (21 off 15) helped India notch 71 runs in the last 10 overs, lifting the score to 252.
For Pakistan, Subhan dismissed Chouhan and Patel to finish with 3-33 in 9.5 overs.
To qualify for the semi-final at India’s expense, Pakistan needed to chase down the target within 33.4 overs; otherwise, if the innings ended with a six to reach 258, they had until 34.3 overs to get there.
Pakistan showed some early intent, scoring 13 runs off the second over. It seemed their chances hinged on Sameer Minhas, but India were able to send the star opener back fairly quickly. He was trapped leg before wicket by Henil Patel.
Following the early setback, Pakistan never showed any urgency to make a run for the semi-final spot. Hamza Zahoor (42), Usman Khan (66) and captain Farhan Yousuf (38) hung in there gamely even as runs slowed down to a trickle.
Chouhan conceded 30 runs off his 10 overs and claimed the wicket of Zahoor and was named the player-of-the-match. Skipper Mhatre claimed three wickets for 21 in his overs while Khilan Patel got 3-35.
Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2026
The Pakistan cricket team on Monday departed for Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin on February 7.
In a post on X, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that a 15-player squad was departing for Sri Lanka.
“The 15-player national squad includes Captain Salman Ali Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Naeef, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan, and Usman Tariq,” the PCB said.
It said that the team would rest on Monday and Tuesday.
“The team will play a warm-up match against Ireland on Feb 4,” PCB added.
The T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is set to begin on Feb 7.
On Sunday, the government gave the go-ahead for Pakistan’s participation in the tournament, but barred it from playing against arch-rival India on February 15.
The announcement came amid uncertainty regarding a possible boycott of the tournament over Bangladesh’s withdrawal following tensions with India.
A government source told Dawn that Pakistan had refused to play against India to express solidarity with Bangladesh. According to the government source, the primary reason for boycotting the match with India was the ICC’s “biased decision” towards Bangladesh.
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