England beat Pakistan by 5 wickets to lift T20 World Cup, 2nd to win title twice
England on Sunday beat Pakistan by five wickets to win the T20 World Cup title at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, becoming the second team to lift the Cup twice. The first was West Indies in 2016.
England won the toss and opted to field. With a clinical bowling performance, they restricted Pakistan to a below-par 137 for 8 before chasing down the target with six balls to spare.
Pakistan’s batting was disappointing, with Babar Azam (32), Mohammad Rizwan (15), Shan Masood, (38), and Shadab Khan (20) being the only ones to reach double figures.
Sam Curran (3/12) did most of the damage, while Adil Rashid (2/22) and Chris Jordan (2/27) did the rest.
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Pakistan bowlers did good initially, picking up three quick wickets to leave England teetering at 45 for three in the sixth over. But Ben Stokes (52 not out) produced a gritty performance to take his team home. Jos Buttler (26), Harry Brook (20), and Moeen Ali (19) backed him up effectively.
In the first innings, English bowlers gave the Pakistani batsmen no chance to settle. Curran gave his team a big breakthrough when he bowled out Rizwan for 15 off 14 in the fifth over.
Mohammad Haris joined skipper Babar Azam next. However, Adil Rashid stuck in his first over, sending Haris packing after scoring 8 off 12.
England bowlers conceded only 68 runs in 10 overs with two wickets. In the 11th over, Rashid struck again, dismissing the well-set Babar Azam for 32 off 28.
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Among the rest, Shadab Khan put up a fight, slamming a stunning six off Rashid’s delivery in the 14th over. After 15 overs, Pakistan’s scorecard read 106 for four. Shadab and Masood slammed Stokes for 13 runs in the 16th over.
However, Curran struck again to pick up the aggressive Masood for 38 (off 28 balls). Chris Jordan dismissed Shadab for 20 (off 14 balls). The rest of the Pakistani batsmen fell like nine pins.
(With agency inputs)
