England have wrapped up Pakistan for 137 for eight in the final of the T20 World Cup on Sunday in Melbourne. They now need to score 138 to become the champions of T20Is for the second time.
England won the toss and sent Pakistan to bat first. The Babar Azam-led team failed to post a challenging total on the board. They lost wickets at regular intervals and never looked to offer some challenge to the English bowling attack.
Sam Curran, the England speedster, continued to shine and bagged three wickets after conceding just 12 runs in four overs. He was the highlight of England’s controlled bowling in the final.
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Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan have also done well with the ball, picking up two wickets each.
Pakistan lost Mohammad Rizwan in the power play, and young Muhammad Haris was also sent back early. From the beginning of their innings, Pakistan's batting lineup has looked sluggish.
Curran scalped the first wicket of Rizwan, and then Rashid came to the scene and picked up the wickets of Haris and Babar. Babar was opening his arms, but a googly from Adil did the trick for England. Babar fell for 32 off 28 balls.
After Babar’s dismissal, the onus was on Iftekhar Ahmed and Shan Masood to keep the scorecard afloat. But Iftekhar failed to deliver in the final. He had a duck and fell victim to Ben Stokes.
Pakistan’s dismal batting continued after that. Shadab Khan scored 20 off 14 balls, but that was enough for them to pass the 150-run mark. They were not even able to score 140 in the final.
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In the first ten overs, Pakistan scored 68 for 2. In the next ten overs, they scored only one more run, losing six more wickets. In the death overs, England's bowlers were as outstanding as they have been throughout the event.
Both England and Pakistan have won the T20 World Cup once before. With the kind of batting lineup the English team has, the 138-run target shouldn't be a difficult task for them to win the 2022 T20 World Cup final against Pakistan and register their second title in the format.