The first clash between Australia and Pakistan in the T20 series was an eventful spectacle.
For all the scrutiny the One Day International series received for its lack of relevance it was swiftly onto the T20 format for the Australian team that took the field.
The short T20 format brings the entertainment value that the longer ODIs cannot seem to provide to a young generation.
It was a wet Thursday night at the Gabba and after weathering the storm, the match was reduced to a seven-over affair.
Despite this misshapen clash, the crowd was treated to a festivity of aggression. Pakistan won the toss and sent the Aussies into bat in what was expected to be changeable conditions.
The matchwinner was Glen Maxwell, the big show providing 43 off 19 deliveries. This form was nowhere to be seen in the previous series.
His first ball saw an awkward reverse shot that showed heavy intent to score. A late cameo from Stars teammate Marcus Stoinis joined with 21 helping the Aussies to a 20-run final over leaving 93 to defend.
Pakistan’s innings can be summarised as maximum intent and zero reward. A six-or-out philosophy was not the required strategy.
Long boundaries combined with a lack of hard running to double any singles saw too much left after a disastrous start.
Six departed for a measly 24 runs, which meant a flourish of boundaries from T20 debutants Haseebullah Khan and Abbas Afridi was reduced to little significance.
When the partnership broke normal service returned, Adam Zampa finished the seven overs with back-to-back wickets leaving Pakistan 9-64. The Aussies won by 29 runs in treacherous conditions.
What this T20 demonstrated is that despite what on all accounts was a one-sided affair that had no wider impacts on world cricket and was shortened due to poor weather it was still more entertaining than the previous two ODI’s.
One-day matches need to be situational to be entertaining.
Just look back to 2014’s Brisbane clash in which James Faulkner put the Aussies on his shoulder to bring them home was an instant classic.
Make no mistake, this game was far from an instant classic. But those in attendance would agree this match got their money’s worth, even with less overs.
T20 is flexible, adaptable and must watch.
T20s do have some fallbacks. They can be heavily oversaturated, and it does feel like a T20 World Cup does not have the same impact as an ODI World Cup.
The shortened format also allows young talents to have experience in international cricket. Tests and ODI’s seemed to be reserved for the main squad.
Jake Fraser-McGurk for all his setbacks has learned from the opening to the summer.
Two more T20s are to follow before the test series gets underway. Australia and Pakistan head to Sydney for the second game on November 16.
These will continue to provide entertainment for all fans alike something that increasingly seems like ODI’s cannot do in the eyes of the general public.
>Cricket News
%20(3).jpeg)
0 Comments