Hosts looking to wrap up series with victory at the SCG as Pakistan bring in left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem

Australia are taking an unchanged lineup into the second T20 international against Pakistan with an opportunity to wrap up the series with a match in hand.

Stand-in skipper Josh Inglis won the toss and chose to bat first on a clear night in Sydney. 

The hosts prevailed in a weather-affected seven-over-per-side match in Brisbane on Thursday night and enter tonight’s clash with the same XI, keeping Sean Abbott and Josh Philippe on the bench.

Australia XI: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis (c, wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Aaron Hardie, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson

Pakistan XI: Muhammad Rizwan (c/wk), Babar Azam, Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem

Pakistan have one change after going down by 29 runs two days ago, bringing in left-arm wrist-spinner Sufiyan Muqeem in place of Haseebullah Khan.

The visitors surprised the home side during the ODI series with two massive victories in Adelaide and Perth, built off winning the toss, bowling first, and taking early wickets with their impressive pace battery.

Touring skipper Muhammad Rizwan tried the same tactic at the Gabba in the T20 opener but Glenn Maxwell’s blitz with the bat proved the difference.

Unlike previous visits to Sydney for the Australian team, the rain held off in the New South Wales capital on Saturday, although thick grey clouds populated the sky for most of the day.

Clear conditions are expected for the night, as is a bumper crowd, with more than 30,000 fans predicted to pile in to the SCG.

Australia v Pakistan T20Is 2024

November 14: Australia won by 29 runs at the Gabba

November 16: SCG: 7.00pm AEDT

November 18: Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 7.00pm AEDT

All matches live and exclusive on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports

Australia T20 squad: Josh Inglis (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Philippe, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Pakistan T20 squad: Muhammad Rizwan (c), Abbas Afridi, Agha Salman, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Irfan Khan, Jahandad Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan.