Guwahati: Sam Curran and Ben Stokes’ outstanding play helped England defeat Pakistan by five wickets in a thrilling low-scoring final on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), giving them their second ICC T20 World Cup victory since 2010.
With the ball, England played outstandingly, holding Pakistan to 137/8. The English batting lineup is led by Sam Curran (3/12). When chasing 138, England was down to 45/3 before the powerplay, but Stokes (52*) once again came through in a crucial situation to lead his team to victory.
In the opening over of the 138-run chase, England’s opener Alex Hales was out for just one run when Shaheen Afridi’s delivery crashed through his wickets. In one over, England was 7/1.
Alongside captain Jos Buttler was Phil Salt. Young pacer Naseem Shah was assaulted by the duo, who ran him over for three fours with the captain hitting two.
Haris Rauf intervened to send back Salt for just 10 off nine balls just as it appeared the pair was forming a partnership. In 3.3 overs, England was 32/2.
Ben Stokes, an all-arounder, was the next to bat. Rauf took down captain Buttler for 26 off 17 balls to take his second wicket of the game. In 5.3 overs, England scored 45/3.
England had 49/3 after six overs of powerplay, with Harry Brook (4*) and Stokes (1*). The two players assisted England in keeping their innings intact in the middle of it.
England was at 77/3 after 10 overs, with Brook (14*) and Stokes (17*).
One run at a time, Stokes-Brook was pulling England back into the contest. Spinner Shadab Khan, though, broke their stand at 39 runs when he bowled Brook for 20 off 23 balls. A superb catch was made by Shaheen at long-off. In 12.3 overs, England had 84/4.
Stokes was joined in the pursuit by Moeen Ali. With Stokes (28*) and Ali (3*), England had 97/4 after 15 overs.
England reached the 100-run threshold in 15.4 overs. England needed to score 38 in 26 balls. Stokes reduced the challenge to 28 needed in 24 balls by launching a four over the covers and a six over long-off.
In the first two balls of the following over, Moeen smacked pacer Mohammad Wasim for two boundaries, cutting the lead to 20 runs in 22 balls. On the final ball, he also hit a boundary, leaving England needing to score 12 runs in the remaining three overs.
Ali and Stokes’ 48-run partnership ended after Wasim knocked the former’s stumps loose. At 19 runs in 13 balls, the left-hander’s brief but valuable cameo came to an end.
Five of England’s batsmen were back in the chase for 132 and they needed six runs in ten balls.
With a four in 47 balls, Stokes reached his first half-century in T20I cricket. The scores were equalised.
With Liam Livingstone at 1 and Ben Stokes unbeaten at 52* from 49 balls, England closed their innings at 138/5 in 19 overs.
Rauf (2/23) was Pakistan’s preferred bowler. Each of Shaheen, Wasim, and Shadab chose one.
At the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, and Adil Rashid earlier bowled masterful spells to limit Pakistan to 137/8 in the final of the 2017 ICC T20 World Cup.
Chris Jordan and Adil Rashid each got two wickets, while Sam Curran bowled a superb spell and took three. The most runs scored for Pakistan were 38 by Shan Masood and 32 by captain Babar Azam.
When Pakistan was given the opportunity to bat first, openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan started the team’s scoring by scoring 8 runs in Ben Stokes’ very first over. The all-rounder swung Stokes’ opening delivery away, and Rizwan covered for it as he fielded to mid-off, resulting in a no-ball.
Azam and Rizwan started out on guard. Sam Curran won his team a significant victory in the fifth over of the game when he dismissed Rizwan for 15 off 14. After the powerplay, England’s bowlers will feel happy after Pakistan was held to 39/1 from six overs.
Then Mohammad Haris walked out to bat and teamed up with Captain Babar. Adil Rashid struck in his first over and removed Haris after getting eight points out of twelve. Then Shan Masood, a left-handed batter, stepped up to the plate.
Pakistan was kept in check by England’s bowlers, who only allowed 68 runs while taking two wickets in 10 overs. Rashid struck out once more in the eleventh over of the innings, dismissing veteran batsman Babar Azam for 32 off 28 while bowling a maiden over.
After being reintroduced to the attack, Stokes proved to everyone why he is so well-known by bowling Iftikhar Ahmed out for a 6-ball duck. Pakistan’s score was 85/4 at that time. Shadab Khan then came out to bat, and in the 14th over, the bowler Rashid’s delivery was hit for a stunning six by the batter.
Pakistan’s total after 15 overs of play was 106 with a four-wicket loss. In the 16th over, Shadab and Masood unlocked their hands and hammered Stokes for 13 runs.
After that, Sam Curran dealt Pakistan another setback when he struck out well-positioned and aggressive hitter Masood for 38 runs off 28 balls. Chris Jordan then joined the fray in the 17th over and eliminated Shadab for where Woakes takes the easiest of catches. Jordan’s short ball received a good bounce off the ground, and Shadab’s only option was to hit the ball into Chris Woakes’ hands at mid-off. Shadab returned to the pavilion after he had scored 20 points off of 14 balls.
Mohammad Nawaz, who had only scored five runs off seven balls, was removed by Curran, who once more shook Pakistan’s batting order. Nawaz attempted to loft a longer ball from Curran over the deep midwicket fielder, but he was caught by Livingstone.
Jordan dismissed Mohammad Wasim Jr. for 4 off 8 deliveries in the penultimate over of the innings to help England restrict Pakistan to 137/8 in the 20 over match.
Brief score: Pakistan: 137/8 (Shan Masood 38, Babar Azam 32; Sam Curran 3-12) vs England: 138/5 (Ben Stokes 52*, Jos Buttler 26, Haris Rauf 2/23).