Australia set Pakistan 148 to win: second Twenty20 international – live | Australia cricket team

18th over: Pakistan 124-8 (Irfan 29, Muqeem 0) Hello! The youngster Irfan Khan slugs Ellis for 16 from three balls to give Pakistan fresh hope, including a flat, dragged six over square leg. Irfan is able to steal a bye off the last ball to keep the strike. Pakistan need 24 from 12 balls.

17th over: Pakistan 107-8 (Irfan 15, Muqeem 0) Zampa is done for the night: 4-0-19-2. He is so good.

Superb bowling, wretched batting. Naseem charges Zampa, who zips the ball straight through the gate and into the stumps.

Shaheen misses, Zampa hits. An entirely predictable development that moves Australia even closer to a series victory.

16th over: Pakistan 106-6 (Irfan 14, Shaheen 0) Spencer Johnson started his spell with five wides and ended it with five wickets: 4-0-26-5. It was an outstanding performance; he gets some prodigious bounce.

Spencer Johnson takes his maiden five-for in T20 cricket! Abbas Afridi hits his first ball imperiously for four but carves his second to Matt Short in the covers. Three balls ago Pakistan were on top; now Australia are heavy favourites.

Another twist at the SCG. Usman Khan tries to pull Spencer Johnson but can only top-edge the ball gently to short fine leg. Australia really needed that.

15th over: Pakistan 101-4 (Usman 52, Irfan 14) Australia are in danger of losing the plot, and the match. Bartlett, back for his final over, wants to review an LBW appeal when Usman is hit on the glove. Inglis pulls rank but then Irfan gloves a short ball down the leg side for four.

Usman takes a pair of twos to bring up a fine fifty from 35 balls, his first in T20 internationals. Pakistan need 47 from 30 balls. They looked beaten when they were 44 for 4 after 10 overs; now they’re favourites.

14th over: Pakistan 89-4 (Usman 47, Irfan 9) Now it’s Australia who are under pressure. Short drops Usman, a pretty straightforward chance at deep square off Ellis, and the ball bursts through his hands for four.

Pakistan has scored more runs in the last four overs than they did in the first 10.

13th over: Pakistan 80-4 (Usman 41, Irfan 7) Zampa drops Usman off his own bowling, a seriously tough chance, before being driven delightfully over extra cover for six by Usman Khan. He scored 12 from his first 17 balls; he’s biffed 29 from the last 12.

12th over: Pakistan 68-4 (Usman 33, Irfan 3) Usman Khan is keeping Pakistan in the hunt. He drives Stoinis over extra cover for four, then carts another boundary through midwicket.

A gloved pull brings two more, but also a blow that requires treatment, and he squirts three behind square. Pakistan have hit 24 from the last two overs.

11th over: Pakistan 55-4 (Usman 20, Irfan 3) Usman Khan laps Maxwell for a rare boundary, only the second off the bat in this innings. He’s Pakistan’s main hope now, but there’s a lot of work to do: they need 93 from 54 balls.

10th over: Pakistan 44-4 (Usman 14, Irfan 0) Irfan Khan keeps out the hat-trick ball, though he’s a bit fortunate to survive the over. Both edges of the bat are beaten, with the latter leading to an appeal for caught behind off the inside edge. Turned out the noise was the ball hitting the body.

Two in two! The dangerous Salman Agha snicks a beauty through to Josh Inglis and is out for a golden duck. Salman didn’t do much wrong there; it was a lovely delivery that seamed and bounced across him.

Rizwan has gone now. The ball after hitting Johnson for the first boundary of the innings, he mistimed a pull towards long on, where David ran in and swooped forward to take an excellent catch. Australia are on course for a series-winning victory.

9th over: Pakistan 40-2 (Rizwan 12, Usman 12) Usman is dropped by Inglis off Zampa, a very sharp chance standing up to the stumps. It was a big deflection so I wouldn’t be too critical.

Zampa has an unsuccessul LBW review against Rizwan two balls later. Rizwan missed a sweep at a ball that dipped under the bat to hit the front pad and then the back thigh; the technology suggested it would have hit the outside of leg stump. Hmm, that doesn’t quite feel right.

8th over: Pakistan 36-2 (Rizwan 11, Usman 10) Usman edges the new bowler Nathan Ellis on the bounce to short third, where Zampa adjusts smartly to save the boundary. Another over of… not much from Pakistan, who have been strangely passive with the bat.

7th over: Pakistan 33-2 (Rizwan 10, Usman 8) Adam Zampa, sporting a bleached blond buzzcut, comes on straight after the Powerplay and concedes three singles from his first over. The required rate is creeping towards nine an over; it already feels like the net is closing around Pakistan.

6th over: Pakistan 30-2 (Rizwan 9, Usman 6) Rizwan tries to slog sweep Bartlett, misses and is thumped in the gut. That sounded nasty and he winces a few times before taking guard again. Pakistan just can’t get going, particularly against Bartlett who has marvellous figures of 3-0-7-1.

Australia didn’t concede a single boundary off the bat in the Powerplay.

5th over: Pakistan 27-2 (Rizwan 8, Usman 4) The relatively small target means Pakistan can take a bit of time to regroup; they can’t afford to lose any more wickets in the Powerplay. The upshot is a low-key over from Stoinis: a dot, four singles and a two.

4th over: Pakistan 21-2 (Rizwan 4, Usman 2) What a fantastic over from Xavier Bartlett. Rizwan is beaten by successive deliveries that seam and bounce past the outside edge; then he’s hit on the back thigh by another excellent delivery. One run from an over that belonged in a Test match, not a T20.

3rd over: Pakistan 20-2 (Rizwan 3, Usman 2) Pakistan are grateful for Spencer Johnson’s wides, without which they’d be 13 for 2.

Farhan, who has struggled to beat the infield with his ground shots, pulls Johnson breezily over midwicket for a couple. But then he plays a second pull that is neither one nor t’other and goes straight to Bartlett at midwicket.

2nd over: Pakistan 15-1 (Rizwan 3, Farhan 3) The new batter, Sahibzada Farhan, survives a big LBW shout after missing a waft across the line. Australia decide against a review. It looks close but probably umpire’s call at best and therefore not out.

Farhan chips the last ball of the over jauntily down the ground for three.

Xavier Bartlett strikes first ball! It was a poor delivery, in truth, but Babar flicked it high towards deep square leg. Nathan Ellis ran round the boundary to take a well-judged catch.

1st over: Pakistan 11-0 (Rizwan 3, Babar 3) Johnson’s first ball swings down the leg side for five wides. An LBW appeal against Rizwan is caught in the throat because of an inside edge, but overall it’s not a great first over. A short ball outside leg stump is gloved fine for three by Babar Azam.

Twelve from the over. Which, rather absurdly, means Australia are nine runs ahead on the comparison.

Right, we’re back. Spencer Johnson to Mohammad Rizwan.

“Yesterday my friend told me that India won another match and that had scored 280-odd with two centuries against South Africa,” begins Krishnamoorthy V. “I replied, ‘These days teams score that in a T20’ and he replied: ‘It IS a T20’.

“I give up now.”

20th over: Australia 146-9 (Ellis 1, Zampa 0) Adam Zampa steals a bye off the last ball of the innings. That’s a brilliant performance from Abbas Afridi, who didn’t concede a single boundary in a spell of 4-0-17-3.

He and Haris Rauf dragged Pakistan back into the contest after a monstrous start from Australia, who were 50 for 0 after 3.1 overs. But for some desperate fielding, Pakistan would be chasing an even lower total.

Spencer Johnson slices his first ball high in the air and is taken at mid-on. Abbas Afridi looks a real find for Pakistan. And now he’s on a hat-trick.

Abbas Afridi strikes with one of the worst deliveries of his life. It was a slower short ball that would have been called wide on line and height, but Hardie was committed to the shot and top-edged it straight up in the air. Mohammad Rizwan did the rest.

19th over: Australia 141-7 (Hardie 24, Ellis 1) Haris ends a glorious spell with figures of 4-0-22-4. He came on with Australia 48 for 0 after three overs and instantly changed the game.

By the way the wicket of Bartlett was Haris’s 107th in T20 internationals, equalling Shadab Khan’s Pakistan record.

18.4 overs: Australia 140-7 (Hardie 23, Ellis 1) Nathan Ellis misses his first two balls, sets off each time for a bye and then thinks better of it. He’s desperate to get Hardie on strike and manages it next ball with a straight drive that hits the bowler Haris on the ankle.

Haris in a bit of pain here – he twisted his left ankle at the same time as the ball hit him on the right ankle. The right one looks to be the problem; there’s a break in play while he receives treatment. He’s okay to continue.

The main man strikes again. Bartlett drags a pull onto the stumps to give Haris Rauf his fourth wicket. He’s been sensational.

18th over: Australia 139-6 (Hardie 23, Bartlett 5) Hardie pulls Naseem’s first ball sweetly to the square-leg boundary. Naseem again finishes the over strongly, conceding three off the bat from the last five balls.

Two overs to go, Australia will be aiming for 160.

17th over: Australia 131-6 (Hardie 16, Bartlett 5) Bartlett slugs Shaheen over midwicket for his first boundary, a pretty good shot for a No8. Shaheen finishes his spell of two halves. The first two overs disappeared for 32, the last two cost just seven.

16th over: Australia 124-6 (Hardie 14, Bartlett 1) Hardie, the senior batter after David’s departure, pulls Naseem Shah for a beautiful flat six. It’s been such a topsy-turvy innings that it’s hard to know whether Australia are anywhere near a par score. You’d think they’ll want at least 150.

That’s if they don’t run out of wickets. Bartlett almost falls, chipping Naseem just short of Farhan at short midwicket. A good comeback from Naseem: six off the first ball, three from the last five.

15th over: Australia 115-6 (Hardie 6, Bartlett 0) Haris Rauf has taken 3 for 20 from three high-quality overs.