Shake Pakistan chose to bowl vs Australia
Pakistan opted to field first in the first of the three T20Is at the Gabba. A match delayed by lightning and persistent rain in Brisbane for almost three hours began as a seven-over contest. Pakistan will field a batting-heavy lineup, with left-arm fast bowler Jahandad Khan omitted in the last minute for wicketkeeper-batsman Sahibzada Farhan. Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf are playing, while Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who is captaining the T20 team for the first time, are set to open.
Australia captain Josh Inglis admitted he too would have played first. Much of their top five is unchanged from the ODI series, with Adam Zampa the spinner specialist while Tim David occupies the middle order. Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis and Spencer Johnson complete the bowling attack.
A seven over game means that two players can bowl a maximum of two overs, and no other player is allowed more than one. The powerplay consists of two overs.
Australia: 1 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 2 Matt Short, 3 Josh Inglis (captain and week), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Tim David, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Aaron Hardie, 8 Xavier Bartlett, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Spencer Johnson
Pakistan: 1 Babar Azam, 2 Mohammad Rizwan (captain and week), 3 Sahibzada Farhan, 4 Usman Khan, 5 Salman Agha, 6 Irfan Khan, 7 Abbas Afridi, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Haseebullah Khan, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Naseem Shah
