Pakistan vs Australia, 2nd T20I - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: Australia v Pakistan in UAE, 2018 Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Date & Time: Oct 26, 08:00 PM LOCAL

Pakistan will hope the bowlers are able to maintain their dominance over Australia. © AFP

That's it from us folks! Until next time then ...

Post-match thoughts

Sarfraz Ahmed: It is not easy to win 10 series' in this format and that too in a row. The credit goes to the players and the management. All the players are becoming match winners. I had confidence on Shaheen. He is a left-armer, that helped me to allow him to bowl the final over. I briefed him on the plan and he showed that he has the capability. Yes, he is young and inexperienced but he will learn. Imad has done well to come back. Shadab is doing well. Whenever I need, I have Hafeez bowling as well. I felt Hasan will do well after the 10th over and that is why I brought him late. We felt we played out too many dot balls. We also have to ensure that the lower-order contributes more. It is a big win and I hope people are happy with this.

Aaron Finch: We were a bit tentative in the powerplay. Going from 6 down in the powerplay in the last game to tonight, we were too conservative. When pakistan applies the squeeze on you, it can be very tough. They are playing great cricket at this moment and are confident. All credit to them. There are definite areas in which we can improve. We will come out in game 3 and give it our best shot. All the chat around was about the wicket, our positive intent, postive playing and we did not go out there and sum up the options quickly. We allowed the run-rate to go up to 9 and onwards pretty quickly. The bowlers are doing very well. Nathan is coming back after an injury and there are a few guys who are coming back after an injury. So, it is good to see their confidence.

Imad Wasim, Man of the Match: I have been doing it for a while. I have been bowling in the powerplays. It was different to the last game. I tried bowling wicket-to-wicket. I have been working hard. You have to see the situation and bowl accordingly. I knew they won't go after me. I see what the batsman are trying to do and accordingly make my plans.

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Hello and welcome to the live blog of the second T20I between Pakistan and Australia in Dubai.

Things were supposed to get easier for the visitors in the shortest format following the 373-run defeat in the second Test. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for the Australians, who succumbed to a 66-run loss in the first Twenty20 International at Abu Dhabi. To call that defeat a 'thrashing' would be an understatement. For Australia, who are yet to win a single match on this tour, the second T20I against Pakistan will be a must-win encounter.

Four of the top five Australian batsmen fell for single-digit scores and that tells a tale. "That powerplay was horrific...it was like a car crash in slow motion," remarked skipper Aaron Finch in the post-match press conference following the disappointing batting performance. At 22/6 in the sixth over, Australia were threatening to break an unwanted record of getting bowled out for the lowest T20I score. But, the partnership between Ashton Agar and Nathan Coulter-Nile averted that embarrassment.

While Finch, number one batsman in T20Is, took the blame upon himself for the batting debacle, there is room for improvement in the bowling department as well. The bowlers did a good job the other day though, restricting their opponents to a score under 160 after a dazzling start. The pace duo of Andrew Tye and Billy Stanlake were the pick of the bowlers claiming three wickets apiece.

The biggest positive for Pakistan in that big win was the way Imad Wasim performed. The southpaw, taking part in a T20I fixture after almost a year, set the ball rolling. He cleaned up both the Australian openers in the very first overs and added one more victim to his wicket column, thereby finishing with miserly figures reading - 4-0-20-3. Faheem Ashraf, who shared the new ball with Wasim, too was effective as he accounted of two dangerous batters - Lynn and Maxwell. Pakistan played with five specialist bowlers and each and every bowler had made a contribution.

Even in the fielding department, the Pakistanis outperformed their opponents - evident by a direct-hit and a magnificent Hasan Ali catch. If there is one facet that Sarfraz Ahmed would be worried, it has to be the batting. Despite getting a solid start, the the Asian side failed to capitalise on it. From 105-1, they collapsed to 133/8, with six batsmen bagging single-digit scores. In the end, Hasan Ali's cameo took their score past 150.

Having a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series, the top-ranked T20I team in the world would come hard against an under the pump Australian side.