Molineux puts Pakistan in a spin

The result: Australia 3-195 (Gardner 63no, Healy 59; Riaz 3-14) defeated Pakistan 7-131 (Nahida 43, Omaima 25; Molineux 4-16) by 64 runs at Kinrara Academy Oval

The match in a tweet: Fifties to Gardner and Healy and 4-16 from Molineux sees Australia take a 1-0 T20 series lead in Malaysia! 

The heroes: Sophie Molineux, take a bow! The left-arm spinner proved near impossible to play through the 50-over matches and that trend continued in the opening T20I as she captured a match-winning 4-16 from her four-over spell. Molineux was tossed the new ball by skipper Meg Lanning and she found immediate success, allowing just one run from her first four deliveries before she had Muneeba Ali out stumped. She returned to bowl the fifth, catching Pakistan skipper Javeria Khan (16 off 12) from her own bowling. Then in the 11th over when Nahida Khan and Omaima Sohail were beginning to build a threatening partnership and routinely find the boundary, Lanning again turned to the 20-year-old Victorian and again Molineux produced the goods, bowling Nahida for 43. Returning at the death, she collected a fourth, combining with ‘keeper Alyssa Healy for a second time as Aliya Riaz was stumped for 19.

The support acts: Healy and Ashleigh Gardner continued their brilliant form with the bat from the final ODI, posting powerful half-centuries to guide Australia to their highest ever T20 total against Pakistan. Healy, fresh off a brilliant 97 in the final ODI, shared in a 75-run opening stand with fellow opener Beth Mooney (38 off 26), the pair building a strong platform for the tourists before Mooney was trapped lbw in the eighth over. Healy pounced on anything loose from the hosts’ bowlers, continuing her recent outstanding form to bring up a half-century from just 28 deliveries. Her assault finally ended when she was caught at long on in the 12th over, out for 59 (35), but if Pakistan had hopes her dismissal would bring relief they were mistaken as Gardner picked up where she left off. Gardner cleared the ropes the following over, cutting and driving her way to her maiden T20I half-century from 33 deliveries. While skipper Lanning (6) fell cheaply, Gardner joined with Elyse Villani (18no off 13) to add 40 runs from the final three overs, the allrounder finishing unbeaten on 63no off 37.

The consolation effort: Pakistan opener Nahida Khan continued her promising form from the one-dayers, showing a willingness to take on the Australian attack as she stroked her way to 43 from 32 deliveries before being bowled by Molineux in the 11th over. The 31-year-old shared in a 55-run stand with debutant Omaima Sohail, 21, whose international career started on a bright note with a 23-ball 25.

The breakthrough knock: Gardner’s potential with the bat is well known after her barnstorming century last Rebel WBBL season. But until this week, she’d yet to fully display those talents at international level. That changed in the final ODI when she struck a 37-ball 62no batting at No.7, before she showed exactly why she comes in at No.3 in the T20I line-up on Thursday with her unbeaten 63, which easily better were previous T20I best of 33.

The next stop: Australia and Pakistan have one day to rest and recharge on Friday before the second match of the series at the same venue on Saturday, beginning at 6pm local time (9pm AEDT). The Pakistan Cricket Board will provide a live stream of the match, while live scores will be available on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.

Australia XI: Beth Mooney, Alyssa Healy (wk), Ashleigh Gardner, Meg Lanning (c), Elyse Villani, Rachael Haynes, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Molineux, Delissa Kimmince, Georgia Wareham, Megan Schutt

Pakistan XI: Nahida Khan, Muneeba Ali, Javeria Khan (c), Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Aliya Riaz, Sana Mir, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Anam Amin, Aiman Anwer 

CommBank Tour of Malaysia

Australia T20 & World T20 squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

Pakistan T20 squad: Javeria Khan (c), Bibi Nahida, Ayesha Zafar, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Sidra Amin, Omaima Sohail, Nida Rashid, Sidra Nawaz, Sana Mir, Nashra Sundhu, Anum Amin, Natalia Parvaiz, Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Aiman Anwar

October 25: First T20I v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

October 27: Second T20I v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

October 29: Third T20I v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

2018 ICC Women's World T20  

November 9: Australia v Pakistan, Province Stadium, Guyana

November 11: Australia v Ireland, Province Stadium

November 13: Australia v New Zealand, Province Stadium

November 17: Australia v India, Province Stadium

November 22: Semi-finals, Sir Vivian Richards Ground, Antigua

November 24: Final, Sir Vivian Richards Ground