Pakistan set Australia 169-run target in T20I series opener

Skipper Salman Ali Agha leads national side in three-match seriesPakistan on Thursday set a target of 169 runs for Australia in the first T20I of the three-match series being played at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.

Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first against Australia in the match.

Pakistan and Australia have met 28 times in T20 Internationals. Australia have won 14 matches, Pakistan 12, with one match ending in a tie and another producing no result.

During the match, the Green Shirts will look to carry forward their winning momentum from recent home T20I series victories against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe to their tied three-match away series in Sri Lanka this month, as they aim to build confidence ahead of the T20 World Cup next month.

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Meanwhile the visitors will aim to rebuild confidence and focus on getting back to winning ways after losing the T20I series against India, as they prepare for a strong showing in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza and Abrar Ahmed.

Australia: Travis Head (c), Matt Short, Cameron Green, Matthew Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Jack Edwards, Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman and Adam Zampa.