England beat Pakistan by five wickets in a pulsating final in Melbourne to win the Men’s T20 World Cup and become double world champions. Chasing 138 in front of a raucous Pakistan-supporting crowd, they slumped to 45-3 and 84-4 amid electric fast bowling. But under intense pressure at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, Ben Stokes wrote himself further into English cricket folklore by finishing 52nd. He was there at the end, as he was in the 2019 50-over World Cup final, as this current white-ball team produced another of English cricket’s greatest victories. As the tie tightened, Stokes took advantage of a serious injury to Pakistan left-armer Sahin Afridi to guide England to victory with six balls to spare. The win, largely thanks to a superb bowling performance from Sam Curran and Adil Rashid, means England become the first team to hold both the men’s 20 and 50-over world titles. It is also their second World T20 title after the 2010 West Indies win.
Stokes leads England to the line again
As Stokes walked off after scoring the winning runs, he roared – his celebration reminiscent of his other iconic knock in the 2019 Ashes Test at Headingley. He was soon heckled by his teammates before running off to celebrate in front of the few England fans in that huge crowd of 80,462. The pitch was tough but England looked strong favorites after their bowling performance restricted Pakistan to 137-8. But England know that finals are never easy. Their experience at Lord’s in 2019 showed that. Pakistan have the best pace attack in the world and the crowd erupted as the early wickets fell in the chase. This is also a weekend in which England’s Red Roses lost a Rugby World Cup final and the men’s rugby league team were beaten in a World Cup semi-final. But Stokes remained calm throughout, even as the equation tightened with 41 runs needed from 30 balls, to steer his side home with his maiden T20 international fifty. His innings also chased away memories of the 2016 T20 World Cup final, when he was crushed by Carlos Brathwaite’s four consecutive sixes in the final as West Indies clinched the title. After a shock loss to Ireland and a surprise loss to Australia in the group stage, England needed to win all of their remaining games to lift the trophy, just as they did at the 2019 World Cup.
Shaheen’s injury turns out to be critical
Game-changing Afridi injury swings final in favor of England Pakistan – and the crowd – got their moment when, with 54 needed from 45, Harry Brook cut the leg-spinner Shadab Khan straight to long-on. But when he took the catch, Shaheen, who had bowled with Alex Hales in England’s first over, was injured – a moment that proved crucial. He returned to the court to bowl the 16th but after one delivery he limped off the court. That left part-time spinner Iftikhar Ahmed to finish the over and Stokes took his chance, hitting a four and a six over long-off to bring the game under England’s control. Moeen Ali followed up by hitting seamer Mohammad Wasim for three fours in the next over and the result was all but safe, even though Moeen was bowled in the 19th over. Pakistan’s pace bowlers can take little responsibility. Harris Rauff had England captain Josh Buttler caught behind for 26 and Phil Salt at mid-wicket in a thrilling spell. He and Naseem Shah, who somehow did not fall in an impressive four overs, did their best to secure what would have been Pakistan’s second T20 title.
star Curran & Rashid
‘Outstanding’ – Curran takes 3-12 from his four overs England were equally impressive with the ball, albeit after a nervous start from Stokes, who started the match with an out and then an out. Pakistan’s fearsome opening pair of captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were surprisingly flawless early on and Rizwan was bowled in the fifth over by Curran for 15. Rashid had the dangerous Mohammed Harris caught with his first ball and in his third over he delivered a crucial blow. Babar was steadily on his way to 32 but Rashid foxed him with a googly and took a good low return catch. Rashid followed it up with a five-pointer off Iftikhar to complete a remarkable wicket-maiden in the heat of a World Cup final. From there Pakistan did not recover. They lost seven wickets for 53 runs in the last nine overs. Curran was deservedly named player of the tournament for a series of stunning performances and once again his combination of slower yorkers and bouncers proved almost impossible to hit – conceding just 12 runs from his four overs. Shan Masood was Pakistan’s top scorer with 38 off 32. He dropped Curran at deep square leg in the 17th over, which allowed Chris Jordan to help close the innings. Jordan, who retained his place after Mark Wood failed to recover from injury, added the wickets of Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz as only 18 runs came from the last four overs. Afridi bowls Hales for 1 with a superb yorker in the first over
