Pakistan win toss, opt to bat in T20 final against Australia at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium

2026-02-01 - 10:46

Pakistan on Sunday won the toss and opted to bat against Australia as the two play the final game of their T20I series at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The Green Shirts have already clinched the T20I series after their win in the second match on Saturday, when a 90-run thrashing of the visitors gave them an unassailable 2-0 lead. “Pakistan opt to bat first in the PAKvAUS T20I series’ last game, leading 2-0 at Gaddafi Stadium,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on X. Skipper Salman Agha hit his highest score in the shortest format before Pakistan’s spinners routed Australia by 90 runs. The result underlined Pakistan’s growing dominance over Australia in the shortest format. On Thursday, in the opening match of the series, the Green Shirts achieved their first T20I victory against Australia in more than seven years. Saim Ayub gave an outstanding all-round performance, taking two wickets after a blistering 40-run knock. The two teams played a three-match Test and an ODI series in March-April 2022, followed by a solitary T20I where they bagged a close three-wicket win at Gaddafi Stadium. Australia also played three of their 2025 Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan. Teams Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Khawaja Nafay, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed. Australia: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Matt Short, Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Phillipe, Mitchell Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Matthew Kuhnemann and Adam Zampa. More to follow