Sydney [Australia]: The first T20I of the three-match series between Australia and Pakistan being played here at the Sydney Cricket Ground was stopped due to rain on Sunday, forcing the hosts to abandon their chase before the end of overs.
Chasing 119 on the basis of Duckworth-Lewis method in 15 overs, Australia got off to flying start as openers David Warner and Aaron Finch put on 41 runs in the opening 3.1 overs. At that score, rain once again played spoilsport and the players were forced to leave the field. The rain did not relent and as a result, the match had to be abandoned in between.
Earlier, Pakistan got off to a bad start after being put in to bat as the side lost its opening two wickets with just ten runs on the board. Fakhar Zaman (0) was dismissed by Mitchell Starc while Haris Sohail (4) was sent back to the pavilion by Kane Richardson. Skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan retrieved the innings for Pakistan as the duo put on 60 runs for the fourth wicket. But as soon as the side started to get momentum on their side, Australia came back with the wicket of Rizwan (31). Ashton Agar dismissed the batsman in the 11th over, reducing Pakistan to 70/3.
With Pakistan's score at 88/3 in the 13th over, the heavens opened up and the match had to be stopped due to rain. When the rain stopped, a significant amount of time was wasted and as a result, the game was curtailed to 15-overs per side. Pakistan just got 2.4 more overs to bat and they were able to manage just 19 runs to take their total to 107/5. Babar Azam remained unbeaten on 59. Pakistan and Australia will next take on each other in the second T20I on Tuesday, November 5.
