Pakistan will host Australia in the first T20I of the three-match series at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Thursday, January 29. Both teams begin a fresh contest and will be keen to start the series with a win.

Pakistan come into this series after a short tour of Sri Lanka, where a three-match T20I series ended 1-1 due to rain washing out one game. The hosts have a balanced team in terms of batting and bowling and will be confident playing at home, where they know the conditions favor their style of play.

Australia come into this tournament after a successful Big Bash League season, with many of their players in good form. The Australian team has a balanced side with a lot of power in their batting lineup and a strong bowling attack. Although Australia may be slight favorites in this match, the home advantage that Pakistan has may make this a closely contested match.

PAK vs AUS: Pitch Report

The pitch in Lahore is known to be batters-friendly, with true bounce and fast outfield, making it ideal for big scores. This match is expected to be a high-scoring one. The bowlers will have to be spot on, especially in the powerplay and death overs, as even a small error can be costly.

PAK vs AUS Head-to-Head in T20Is

• Matches Played: 28
  
• Pakistan Won: 1
• Australia Won: 14
  
• Tied / No Result: 1

See Also: SA vs WI, 2nd T20I: Head-to-head, pitch report & predicted playing XIs

PAK vs AUS: Predicted Playing XIs

Pakistan (PAK):

Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (c), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed

Australia (AUS):

Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Cameron Green, Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Xavier Bartlett, Matt Kuhnemann, Adam Zampa, Ben Dwarshuis