Spin friendly wicket at Gaddafi Stadium set to cause more trouble for Australia in 2nd T20I
Saturday’s game is the second game of a three-match series. Pakistan won the opening game by 22 runs.
While run scoring in the series opener was difficult Adam Zampa and Xavier Bartlett’s undefeated 34-run stand for the ninth wicket was nevertheless Australia’s highest for the ninth wicket in T20Is.
Of the 16 wickets that fell in the opening game ten went to spin bowlers. There were two run outs while only four wickets went to the quicks.
The highest ranked batsman in the series is Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan who at fifth on the rankings – he made a first ball duck in teh series opener on Thursday. Australia’s highest ranked batsmen are Travis Head (7th) and skipper Mitch Marsh (8th).
Prior to Thursday’s defeat Australia had won each of their last five T20Is against Pakistan.
Australia is the second ranked T20I side in the world while Pakistan is seventh.
The series between Pakistan and Australia is set to serve as a warm-up for the two teams ahead of the T20 World Cup. Ironically Pakistan may yet pull out of the World Cup, with a final decision on their participation still pending.
With 138 T20I wickets to his credit Australia’s Adam Zampa is his country’s leading all-time wicket taker in the format.
Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
All three games in the current series are being played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Australia have played just two previous T20Is at the Gaddafi Stadium; a three wicket win over Pakistan in 2022 and then, most recently the series opening defeat on Thursday.
Pakistan have won 19 of the 29 games they have played the Gaddafi Stadium. That’s a win percentage rate of 65.51.
No T20I at the venue has ever been abandoned or ended as a No Result.
There is not much to choose when it comes to winning the toss – of the 29 previous T20Is at the venue the team that won the toss chose to bat 13 times while fielding first was chosen 16 times. Pakistan won the toss in the series opener and batted.
The average first innings score at the venue is 164.
The highest score made at the ground was England’s 209 for three from 20 overs scored against Pakistan in 2022.
The lowest total recorded at the ground was New Zealand’s 94 all out from 15.3 overs against Pakistan in 2023.
The highest score successfully chased at the venue was Pakistan’s 197 for three from 17.2 overs scored against Bangladesh in 2025.
Weather:
On Saturday evening in Lahore, you can expect chilly conditions as temperatures drop from a daytime high of 19 degrees toward an overnight low of seven. Skies will remain partly cloudy to overcast, with haze or smoke potentially reducing visibility after sunset. Winds will be light, making for a still but crisp winter night with no rain.
Form (most recent game first):
Pakistan: W, L, A, W, W.
Australia: L, NR, L, L, W.
Key player:
Pakistan, Sahibzada Farhan: Pakistan’s highest ranked batsman, Farhan failed in the series opener with a first ball duck but his record before that was very good. After a slow start to his international career, he found his feet in 2025 with a high score 80 not out and an average of over 30. Farhan has yet to reach the three-figure mark but since the start of 2025 he has passed 50 on eight occasions. His performances are moving in the right direction, and he will want to bounce back on Saturday after Thursday’s failure.
Australia, Adam Zampa: Zampa is not Australia’s leading T20I wicket taker for nothing, and he was in excellent form on a spin-friendly surface on Thursday as he returned figures of four for 24 from his four overs. Zampa ripped through Pakistan’s top order claiming the wickets of Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Salman Agha and Usman Khan as he clinically applied the brakes to the home side’s middle order. Ranked the tenth best T20I bowler in the world expect Zampa to remain amongst the wickets as the series continues at the same venue on Saturday.
Verdict: Pakistan
The conditions in the opening game were tailor made for Pakistan and there is no reason to suggest that they won’t wildly favour the home side once again come Saturday. Australia simply had no answers for Pakistan’s relentless spin barrage and while Shaheen Shag Afridi and Salman Mirza got through three overs each, it was the spinners who picked up all the wickets and pegged the tourists back after a solid start. Expect more of the same on Saturday with Pakistan edging it again.
