PAK vs AUS 1st T20I highlights: Saim Ayub, Abrar Ahmed power Pakistan to 22-run win; Men in Green take 1-0 lead

That's it. Pakistan spinners restrict Australia to 146/8 in 20 overs. Pakistan win by 22 runs in Lahore and take 1-0 series lead.

A timely break for the Australians as one of the floodlight towers went off. The players are waiting for it to come on. The floodlight returns in a minute. OUTTT!!! Abrar Ahmed gets his third of the night as John Philippe holes out to Saim Ayub at deep midwicket. AUS 112-8 (16)

Australia are in a complete disarray in Lahore. After Saim Ayub and Abrar Ahmed, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz get better of Jack Edwards and Cameron Green respectively as Pakistan dominate in Lahore.

OUTTT!!! Two wickets in an over for Pakistan as Australia are in deep trouble. Clear spin is dominating in Lahore and its really tough to bat on this wicket. While Matt Renshaw was run out, Cooper Connolly was cleaned up by Abrar. Pakistan are on top at the moment. Cameron Green is the key for Australia.

AUS 80-4 (10)

OUTTT!! The Saim Ayub ploy works for Pakistan as he gets better of dangerous looking Travis Head. The crowd at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore erupts. Head dances down the track for a big shot and miscues it at long-of for 13-ball 23. What a start by Ayub. AUS 44/2 (5)

OUTTT!!! What a start by Pakistan. After Adam Zampa's four fer, Salman Ali Agha hands the ball to Saim Ayub in just the second over and Ayub strikes. Matthew Short failes to get the carrom ball and is clean bowled. Cameron Green joins Travis Head. AUS 28/1 (3)

Two wickets for Mahli Beardman on debut and that too in the final over of Pakistan's innings. Beardman gets better of Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi. Pakistan finish at 168/8 in 20 overs.

The momentum is completely with Australia at this moment as the visitors have pulled things back superbly. While Adam Zampa broke the middle-order backbone, Xavier Bartlett dismissing Fakhar Zaman added more to the misery. OUTTT!! Zampa finishes with four wickets in his four overs after Usman Khan holes out to Cameron Green. PAK 149-6 (18)

OUTTT!!!! Xavier Bartlett returns and strikes straightaway. Fakhar Zaman is caught by Cameron Green at long-on. Pakistan are certainly falling apart.

PAK 140/5 (15.4)

OUTTTT!!!! Adam Zampa is doing all the trick in Lahore. Zampa bowls a googly and Babar Azam tries to play a reverse sweep. The Pakistan batter misses the line of the ball and gets hit on the pads. Zampa convinces Travis Head to go for a review. UltraEdge shows clear gap between bat and ball. Babar goes back for just 24 runs off 20 balls on a flat track. This is also the fourth time Babar was dismissed by Zampa in T20Is. PAK 124-4 (14)

The departure of Salman Ali Agha and Saim Ayub has dented Pakistan's run flow. On top of that, Babar Azam has come out to bat in the middle order, a slot he has not batted more often. Recently, the BBL, Babar opened the batting with Steve Smith for Sydney Sixers. PAK 115/3 (13)

OUTTT!!! Two in two for Adam Zampa. After Saim Ayub, its times for Salman Agha to follow suit as he holes out to Xavier Bartlett for 39. Both players miss their fifties. Meanwhile, pressure is on Babar Azam as he is joined by Fakhar Zaman. PAK 86-3 (9.2)

Adam Zampa is brought into the attack and the leg-spinner strikes for Australia. Saim Ayub dances down the track for an expansive shot, but the ball hit the toe end of the bat only for debutant Jack Edwards take a simple catch at longon. Ayub departs for 40 in just 22 balls. Babar Azam joins in the middle. PAK 74-2 (8).

Pakistan are revival mode thanks to the second wicket partnership between Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha. The duo have already added 50-plus runs in the powerplay after Sahibzada Farhan was dismissed on the first ball by Xavier Bartlett. PAK 56/1 (6)

OUTTT!!!! What a start by Xavier Bartlett and Australia as Sahibzada Farhan gives a return catch to the bowler on the very first delivery of the match. Farhan goes for a first ball duck. PAK 0/1 (0.1)

Pakistan have won the toss and opted to bat first.

We are just few minutes away from the toss. The wicket in Lahore usually help the batters for strokeplay, so we can expect a high-scoring game today. Toss is coming up soon.

The spotlight will once again be on Babar Azam. The former Pakistan captain was in limelight in BBL recently, having scored just 202 runs in 11 innings. Also his strike rate of 103.06 was the lowest for any player who has scored 200 or above in a BBL season. Notably, Babar, who has been named in Pakistan's T20 World Cup 2026 squad, is returning to the side after missing the series against Sri Lanka.

This will be Australia's second T20I on Pakistan soil. The only time Pakistan hosted a T20I game against Australia was back in 2022, which they lost. In that game, Pakistan rode on Babar Azam's 66 to put 162/8 in 20 overs. In reply, Aaron Finch's 55 helped Australia to romp home with five balls and three wickets to spare. Overall, Australia enjoy a 14-12 head-to-head record against Pakistan in T20Is. One match ended in a tie while another ended in no result.

Australia will be led by Travis Head in the first T20I after regular skipper Mitchell Marsh deciding to give the game a miss, having landed in Pakistan just 48 hours ago. Meanwhile, Australia will have three debutants against Pakistan in 1st T20I with Mahli Beardman, Jack Edwards and Matthew Renshaw, earning their T20I debut caps.

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

The T20I series will serve as a perfect platform for both Pakistan and Australia in the lead up to the T20 World Cup 2026. While Pakistan are coming after winning against Sri Lanka, most of the Australian players are coming after playing in the Big Bash League.

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the first T20I between Australia and Pakistan in Lahore.