Melbourne, Australia: The experts were wrong, and England was correct, as the downpour that was expected held off and Jos Buttler’s team England overcame some late drama to defeat a resurgent Pakistan to win the 2022 T20 World Cup in Melbourne.
The decisive innings to lead his nation to victory by five wickets and to a second T20 World Cup triumph was unavoidably supplied by Ben Stokes, a man who always manages to crowbar his way into a big moment.
When England last made it to the T20 World Cup final in 2016, it was Stokes who bowled the disastrous final over that cost his team the championship.
This was a great time for England’s Test skipper to get his first international T20 half-century. The game was building to a thrillingly suspenseful finale when, in what seemed like a moment of celebration, Pakistan’s hopes of victory abruptly fled. Pakistan batted poorly but bowled beautifully, taking the early wickets they needed.
CHAMPIONS ??????? ?#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/8rNbHBLpws
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) November 13, 2022
Sometimes it can be challenging to identify the crucial moment in a game, but not here. Pakistan’s attempt to defend their low score after being restricted to a small total was magnificently courageous and frequently just outstanding as Naseem Shah terrorized England’s hitters with an exceptional run of fast bowling that ended scandalously unrewarded.
Then, with the English innings halfway through its 13th over, Harry Brook smacked the ball to long off, where Shaheen Afridi took a superb catch. However, the 22-year-old, who had just recovered from a knee ligament injury, called for assistance instead of rushing off in joy. He stumbled off the field, so it was unexpected to see him come back and try to force himself through one more over while appearing unfazed. It just lasted one ball, and when he hobbled away this time, there was no turning back.
Stokes was not feeling sympathetic as Iftikhar Ahmed got ready to finish the sentence. When Moeen Ali blasted the first two balls of the next over, bowled by Mohammad Wasim, to the boundary, England had scored 18 off four balls, and the game had irrevocably turned in their favor.
Earlier in the day, Adil Rashid and Sam Curran’s put on an impressive performance to keep Pakistan at bay. Rashid’s two wickets and 22 runs, including a wicket maiden in the 12th over of a World Cup final, were offset by Curran’s four overs, three wickets, and just 12 runs, which included two at the end of Pakistan’s innings.
Pakistan failed to consistently display aggression, with the exception of the solitary over in which Shan Masood attacked Liam Livingstone’s bowling.
Stokes does it again!
Congratulations to England, #T20WorldCup Champions!
Iconic moments like this will be available as officially licensed ICC digital collectibles with @0xFanCraze.
Visit https://t.co/EaGDgPxPzl today to see if this could be a Crictos of the Game. pic.twitter.com/ph8NAbaLy9
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) November 13, 2022
The ultimate result was a meager score that only the best bowling attack could possibly hold up against, especially against a team with as much batting depth as England.
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