Pakistan beat Australia to win T20 series

Pakistani players celebrate victory over Australia

It was like the vultures hovering over the prey, ready to go for the kill and devour the meat. Pakistan were the hunters and Australia, the hunted, as they clinched the three-match T20 International Series with a game to spare late on Friday night.
Pakistan were clinical and workmanlike, carving out an 11-run win over the Australians in the second T20 International at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The Aussies had fared a tad better than they did in the first match at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi the other night but there was no stopping Pakistan.
There was that semblance of a fight from Glenn Maxwell, who made the most of two reprieves when on 18 and 35, to conjure a valiant 52, his fifth half-century in the format, to make a fist of the 148-run chase.
Maxwell and Nathan Coulter-Nile put together 59 runs for the seventh wicket to give them hopes of the impossible, only to be left stranded at the doorstep.
The third and final T20 International at the same venue on Sunday night has been now rendered a dead rubber.
Earlier, Pakistan would have rued the fact that they didn't get enough on the board after Sarfraz Ahmed had decided to have the first dig at the wicket.
They had decent contributions up top and in the middle with opener Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez featuring again but a mini-collapse saw Pakistan end up with 147 for the loss of six wickets. It was eight runs short of what they had posted in the first T20 International.
Azam followed up his unbeaten 68 in Abu Dhabi with 45 from 44 deliveries with three boundaries, while Hafeez made a 34-ball 40, clubbing three boundaries and two sixes.
But they were hard done by Nathan Coulter-Nile with the fast bowler picking up three for 18, while Billy Stanlake took two for 36.
Coulter-Nile, who had gone wicketless in the Capital but was the only positive with the bat in the Abu Dhabi debacle, accounted for left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman, Shoaib Malik and Hasan Ali.
The 31-year-old Western Australian was in fact on a hat-trick after Malik and Hasan Ali were gobbled by Mitchell Marsh to leave Pakistan on 131 for six. But then, Faheem Ashraf denied Coulter-Nile the accolade.
By then though, the Australians had done well on the field to leave Pakistan neither here nor there.
The positive, if any, for Pakistan, was the 70-run stand between Azam and Hafeez for the second wicket after Zaman had been sent back.
Azam played some delightful shots, especially that boundary off Coulter-Nile where he creamed his through extra-cover.
Both sides made a change to their playing XI with veteran Shoaib Malik slotting right back in for Pakistan, while Australia beefed up their batting by bringing in all-rounder and one of the vice-captains Mitchell Marsh in place of Ashton Agar.
Brief scores:
Pakistan: 147 for 6 in 20 overs (Babar Azam 45, Mohammad Hafeez 40, Faheem Ashraf 17 not out, Nathan Coulter-Nile 3-18, Billy Stanlake 2-36) beat Australia: 136 for 8 in 20 overs (Glenn Maxwell 52, Nathan Coulter-Nile 27, Mitchell Marsh 21, Shadab Khan 2-30, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-35) by 11 runs.