Former T20 World Champ Pakistan have finally reclaimed some of their lost honor by beating Australia in two T20 matches on consecutive days at Edgbaston, England. These convincing 2020 match wins brought an end a long losing streak for Pakistan which was comprehensively beaten by the Aussies in all formats in 12 consecutive matches played in Australia and West Indies.

Although the T20 matches were played far away from home, they had the look and feel of a home series with a large number of boisterous Pakistani fans in attendance on both days. In the first match on July 5, Pakistan (167/7) beat Australia (144 all-out) by 23 runs. The second encounter the next day had Pakistan (162/9) defeated Australia (151 all-out) by 11 runs.



Pakistan's formidable talent was on full display under Captain Shahid Afridi's confident and able leadership. The team delivered good performance in all departments--batting, bowling and fielding. The biggest contributions came from the youngsters like batsman Umar Akmal and bowler Mohammad Aamer, well supported by Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul and Salman Butt. The only disappointment was the newcomer Shahzaib Hasan who opened the innings for Pakistan in both matches. Back after a long gap in international cricket, veteran paceman Shoiab Akhtar did not live up to his fans' expectations either.

Now Pakistanis are going into a test series with Australia with a lot of confidence from the two T20I wins. However, given the significant differences between the two formats, it will be a real test of Pakistanis to repeat their recent stellar performance of the T20 series. Australia are very powerful and disciplined test squad. It will be fascinating to see how Pakistanis deal with them in 5-day matches.

Here's a video clip of the T20 match on July 6, 2010:


Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Afridi's Leadership

Pakistan In, India Out of T20 Semis

Pakistan Beat India in South Africa

Kiwis Dash Pakistan's ICC Championship Hopes

Pakistan Crowned World T20 Champs

Pakistan's Aisamul Haq Beats Tennis Great Roger Federer