England outclass Pakistan to win their 2nd T20 World Cup title

England backed Ben Stokes, saying the all-rounder was the man for the big moments despite his lean patch in T20 World Cup 2022.

And their Test captain stepped up on the biggest of stages, taking them past the finish line on a tricky Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch in the T20 World Cup 2022 final against Pakistan on Sunday, November 10.

Ben Stokes’s calculated knock of 52 off 49 balls helped England beat Pakistan by 6 wickets to win their second T20 World Cup title. Jos Buttler became the second England after Paul Collingwood in 2010 to win the men’s T20 World Cup crown, thanks to his best mate Stokes.

England also became the first team in men’s cricket to hold the 50-over World Cup and the T20 World Cup titles simultaneously. Arguably the best white-ball side in world cricket, England became only the second team after West Indies to win two T20 World Cup titles.

For Pakistan, it was a big disappointment as they had miraculously qualified for the semi-finals despite losing to Zimbabwe and India in their first two Super 12 matches in Australia. There were plenty of talks about Babar Azam-led side emulating Imran Khan’s ‘Cornered Tigers’ from 1992 as both sides had defied odds to reach the final stages of the World Cups.

Even the first run for Pakistan in both the World Cups came via a no-ball but the similarities ended there as Pakistan were outclassed in the big final in Melbourne.

CURRAN, RASHID CHOKE PAKISTAN
England won the toss and opted to bowl on a sluggish Melbourne pitch even as a rain threat was looming large. Sam Curran, who won the Player of the Tournament Award, gave England the best possible start, removing the dangerous Mohammad Rizwan early in the powerplay.

Mohammad Rizwan, who was touted to have as much an impact as Inzamam-ul-Haq had in the 1992 World Cup, went swinging from the first ball but he was not able to get going, getting out for just 8 in Adil Rashid’s first over.

Captain Babar Azam and Shan Masood looked to steady the ship for Pakistan. They did so with 39 runs for the 4th wicket but skipper Babar got out at the wrong time, handing an easy return catch to Rashid, who got the googly out to get the better of the former World No. 1 batter.

Babar’s 32 off 28 was a reflection of his ordinary tournament as he finished with just 124 runs at a strike rate of less than 95.

Masood and Shadab Khan then joined hands and got going with a 36-run stand but Pakistan started losing wickets after Curran broke the crucial stand with the wicket of the former in the 17th over.

Curran finished with figures of 3/12 in 4 overs as England bowlers sucked the momentum out of Pakistan’s innings in the end overs. Pakistan huffed and puffed to 137, which did not seem enough despite the nature of the pitch.

STOKES SHINES
However, Pakistan got off to a strong start with Shaheen Afridi removing in-form Alex Hales. However, Jos Buttler injected pace into the innings with a 17-ball 25.

Pakistan were able to get the wicket of Buttler inside the powerplay as Haris Rauf bowled serious pace at the MCG but England made sure they won the batting powerplay, hitting 49 runs for 3 wickets.

The stage was perfectly set-up for Ben Stokes, who rose to the occasion in the big final, staying unbeaten on 52 and hitting the winning runs. Stokes hit only 5 boundaries and a six but he ran hard between wickets and made sure Pakistan never really ran away with the momentum in their defence of 137.

Shaheen Afrid’s injury cost Pakistan big time as they lost their left-arm pacer, who bowled only 2.1 overs in the final, to an injury. The game was in the balance after Naseem Shah’s superb second spell but the injury to Afridi helped England get to the finish line earlier than expected.