Pakistan vs Australia Live Cricket Score, 3rd T20: Saim-Babar put on 50-run stand for PAK vs AUS at Lahore
Pakistan vs Australia 3rd T20I Match Today Live Cricket Score Updates: Ben Dwarshuis picked up Salman Agha. Pakistan are two down. Earlier, Pakistan skipper Salman Agha won the toss and opted to bat first against Mitchell Marsh’s Australia. With Pakistan already winning the three-match T20I series against Australia with a whopping 90-run victory on Saturday, there is only pride at stake in the third game for the visiting team.
Even though the Australian team touring Pakistan is not at full strength, this has been a buoyant series for hosts Pakistan, coming on the cusp of the T20 World Cup. On Thursday, Pakistan racked up their first win over Australia in T20Is in eight years. If that was just by a 22-run margin, Pakistan showed their strength in a 90-run victory on Saturday.
Story continues below this ad
After the defeat in the second T20I, former Pakistan players like Moin Khan questioned the seriousness of the Australian team to play in the series, with some commentating that it looked like the visitors were in Pakistan just to finish a formality.
Teams:
Pakistan (Playing XI): Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam, Khawaja Nafay(w), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed
Australia (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh(c), Matthew Short, Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Philippe(w), Mitchell Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Adam Zampa
Live Updates
‘It is as if they are fulfilling a formality’: Former Pakistan players question depleted Australia squad’s seriousness
Australia’s Mahli Beardman, right, celebrates with teammate after the dismissal of Pakistan’s Shadab Khan, left, during the first T20 cricket match between Pakistan and Australia, in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
With the Australia team fielding three debutants while resting most of the big names who have travelled to Pakistan in the 1st T20I, former PAK cricketers and other experts are of the opinion that the Mitchell Marsh-led team weren’t really taking the series seriously.
Australia have already rested Pat Cummins, Josh Hazelwood, Tim David, Glenn Maxwell and Nathan Ellias for the series but the players who were available like skipper Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglish, Scott Abbott and Ben Dwarshuis, did not feature in the first match on Thursday.
“In recent times we have seen New Zealand, South Africa, Australia come with weakened teams to Pakistan. It is as if they are fulfilling their formality to play a series,” former Test captain, Moin Khan said.
READ MORE
