Aaron Finch fumes as Australia are denied victory over Pakistan in first T20I

The hosts appeared to be cruising to victory in Sydney until a third bout of rain led to a no result

Australia captain Aaron Finch took a thinly-veiled swipe at the officials after the rain-affected opening T20 international against Pakistan in Sydney ended in a no result.

Finch's side were set an adjusted target of 119 from 15 overs after the tourists made 107 for 5, having seen their innings curtailed by inclement weather.

Thanks to a blistering knock of 37 off 16 balls from their skipper, Australia were 41 for 0 after 3.1 overs and well on course to go 1-0 up in the series under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method. But the rain returned with 11 balls still required to constitute a match.

A third deluge of the day eventually led to play being abandoned, leaving the hosts frustrated and Pakistan thankful to wriggle away unscathed.

Central to the failure not to bowl the five overs of the Australia innings which would have delivered a result either way, was the decision to retain the 20-minute break between both sides batting.

NOW READ: Ahead of a huge T20 year, Australia have to whittle down an embarrassment of riches

Play was delayed for 80 minutes before Pakistan returned to complete the final 14 balls of their innings. A full break then occurred, time which could have been better used according to Finch. 

"It's frustrating," he said. "The 20-minute break in between innings was an interesting one. When you lose a few overs and then you still have a 20-minute break I thought that was really interesting.

"It probably played out of our hands at that moment. But you can't do too much about the weather.

"If you're cutting overs off the game and you still have a 20-minute break it doesn't make much sense to me. But it's part of the rules and you can't do much about it.

"But we played really well. To restrict them to 107 off 15 overs was a great effort and then to be on track to get them was nice. 

^{Rain in Sydney left both teams frustrated}

"When you're old and fat you get a bit of luck sometimes. It was nice to get a few out of the middle. Like I said, a bit unfortunate the rain played such a part."

Match referee Javagal Srinath could have enforced the rule which allows the mid-innings break to be halved.

Wicket-keeper and vice-captain Alex Carey added: "We asked the question, what the changeover would have been, and it remains the same so we were aware of that and can't change it.

"The boys did a great job getting the start, just a shame it was probably five minutes too late.

"It's disappointing to be so close, but it's part of the game. It's one of the things we can't change. The spectators would have liked a result, but we understand it. Good or bad, it's part of it."

The series now heads to Canberra for the second T20I on Tuesday before the concluding match of the duel in Perth on Friday.

Subscribe to The Cricketer for exclusive content every day: The inside track on England's Test tour with George Dobell in Pakistan, award-winning analysis, breaking news and interviews and the only place for in-depth county coverage all year round. Plus: An ad-free app experience at your fingertips. Subscribe to thecricketer.com today for just £1.