Salman Agha led Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first, with Babar Azam and Sahibzada Farhan opening the innings.
However, Farhan was dismissed early by Spencer Johnson. Babar and Haseebullah Khan then steadied the innings, guiding Pakistan to 58/1 by the end of the powerplay. But Zampa struck soon after, removing Khan, and then Usman Khan and captain Salman Agha followed suit, both departing cheaply.
Babar, who had made a promising 41 off 28 balls, was dismissed by Zampa in the 13th over, leaving Pakistan in a precarious position.
The innings took a further blow when Irfan Khan was run out in the 14th over due to a miscommunication with Abbas Afridi. It all began when Aaron Hardie bowled a back-of-a-length delivery to Afridi, who clipped it to mid-wicket and immediately called for a single.
Irfan responded, but Afridi quickly aborted the call and asked him to return. In the ensuing confusion, Spencer Johnson ran in and broke the stumps at the non-striker’s end, sending Irfan back to the pavilion.
— Pandit Pranoob (@pranoob76889) November 18, 2024
Frustrated by the mix-up, Irfan expressed his anger toward Afridi with animated hand gestures and shouts. The incident also sparked a wave of sympathy on social media for Irfan’s unfortunate run-out.