Agency :
Australia seamer Spencer Johnson claimed a maiden five-wicket haul in international cricket as the hosts beat Pakistan by 13 runs in the second Twenty20 International on Saturday to clinch the three-match series 2-0.
Chasing 148 to win, Pakistan made a sluggish start and were reeling at 44-4 at one stage after losing Mohammad Rizwan for 16 and Salman Agha for a first-ball duck as Johnson ripped through the top order with three wickets.
Usman Khan hit his first half-century after being dropped by Matthew Short but fell for a defiant 52 as Johnson struck again in his final spell. Johnson then removed Abbas Afridi for four to finish with 5-26 before Irfan Khan launched another counter-attack with an unbeaten 37 but he could not take the tourists over the line despite only 16 required from the final over.
Pakistan were dismissed for 134 when Haris Rauf was run out. They had recovered from an early onslaught by Australia’s opening batsmen to restrict the hosts to 147-9 despite several dropped catches as Rauf claimed 4-22 and Abbas Afridi bagged 3-17. Jake Fraser-McGurk and Short hit five boundaries and three sixes between them in the first 15 balls of the match at the Sydney Cricket Ground as Australia reached 50 runs in only 3.1 overs after electing to bat first.