Pakistan fall short as Stokes steers England to glory

MELBOURNE: Ben Stokes held his nerve with an unbeaten half-century as England confirmed their reputation as the masters of short-form cricket by claiming their second Twenty20 World Cup title with a stirring five-wicket triumph over Pakistan in front of a partisan 80,462 fans at a heaving Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.

Thirty years after losing the 50-over World Cup final to Pakistan at the MCG, England turned the tables on the south Asians with brilliant death bowling and with Stokes finishing on 52 not out in a chase of 138 for victory and became the sport’s first dual white-ball champions, holding both the 50 and 20-over titles.

A combination of miserly bowling and poised batting proved the difference as England claimed their second T20 World Cup after tasting success in 2010, joining the West Indies as the only two-time winners since the tournament’s inception in 2007.

Jos Buttler’s side held Pakistan to 137-8, with player-of-the-match and tournament Sam Curran bagging 3-12 and Adil Rashid chipping with 2-22.

In reply, England slumped to 49-3 in the sixth over as they struggled to get any momentum against a fiery pace attack, with boundaries hard to come by. But Stokes and Moeen Ali (19) used their experience and cool heads to guide England to 138-5.

England had one over to spare when Stokes struck the winning runs through mid-wicket, with the left-handed batter jumping into the air in celebration after a superb innings, climaxing a riveting tournament that spanned 45 games over nearly a month.

In the nerve-jangling win over New Zealand in the 50-over World Cup final on home soil in 2019, Stokes also stood tall with an unbeaten 84.

“In finals, especially chasing, you forgot all the hard work that came first,” Stokes said. “To restrict them to 130 or whatever it was, the bowlers take a lot of credit. Adil Rashid and Sam Curran won us the game. Pretty good evening. Representing your country in World Cups is amazing, it has been a good one.”

Curran, who was named player-of-the-tournament after consistent brilliance in death bowling, said Stokes should have been player of the match.

“Very special but I don’t think I should be getting this, I think the way Stokesy played there — to get a 50 in the final, he does it so many times for us,” said Curran. “We all look up to him. People question him, but he’s incredible. He’s the man.

“The way I bowl, I go into the wicket with my slower balls and keep the batsmen guessing. World champions, how good,” he added. “We are going to enjoy this occasion, very special.”

NERVOUS MOMENTS

While heavy rain fell around Melbourne on Sunday night, concerns that the final would be interrupted were unfounded with only a few drops falling early in England’s pursuit.

That was fortunate for England, who endured some nervous moments and slipped behind the required run rate in the middle stages until Stokes’ settling innings.

Pakistan will ponder what might have been after talismanic paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi injured himself while taking a catch to remove Harry Brook with the final still in the balance.

On returning to the field after treatment, Shaheen was reintroduced into the attack with five overs remaining but lasted just one delivery before again limping from the MCG in despair.

This proved a reprieve for England, who still required 41 runs from 30 balls when Shaheen was brought back on to bowl. It was here that Stokes launched the winning attack with the bat.

“Our bowling is one of the best in the world. But for the unfortunate injury to Shaheen Afridi, it could have been a different result,” said Pakistan captain Babar Azam.

Curran and right-arm leg spinner Rashid were superb in helping restrict Pakistan, vindicating Buttler’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss.

Pakistan’s opening combination of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan combined for 29 runs before the latter dragged a delivery from Curran on to his stumps in the fifth over.

The introduction of Rashid soon after the six-over powerplay reaped an immediate reward with Mohammad Haris (8) attacking him on his first ball only to sky a simple catch to Stokes.

Babar batted with measured aggression until losing his wicket caught-and-bowled to Rashid for 32 runs off 28 balls in the 12th over.

Stokes had Iftikhar Ahmed caught behind for a duck, leaving Pakistan in trouble at 85 for four.

Though Shan Masood and Shadab Khan (20) combined for 36 runs, Shan holed out for 38 with a miscued slog as Curran swung the momentum back for England at the death.

Shan’s dismissal triggered a collapse as Curran and Chris Jordan shared the last wickets.

ROCKY START

England’s chase got off to a rocky start, with Shaheen bowling Alex Hales for one run and Buttler lost another partner when Phil Salt pulled Haris Rauf straight to Iftikhar at midwicket to be caught for 10.

The ball was swinging and seaming and the menacing Haris claimed the key wicket of Buttler just as he was getting in, edging to wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan on 26 off 17 balls, as Pakistan fought back to 3-45.

England were soon shackled by quality pace, with Stokes and Brook slowing to a crawl. The runs dried up as they reached 77-3 at the halfway point of the innings, compared to Pakistan’s 68-2.

Brook came undone on 20 against the spin of Shadab Khan, holing out to Shaheen and came down to needing 41 runs off the final five overs.

With Shaheen injured, Iftikhar had to bowl out his over and conceded 13 runs, with Stokes smashing a four and a six in consecutive balls to put England back in command.

Stokes and Moeen then combined to carry England to victory, with Liam Livingstone adding one run after Moeen was bowled out in the 19th over, as Buttler’s team again staked their claim as the pre-eminent superpower of white ball cricket.

“Immensely proud. A long journey and a few changes, but we’re reaping the rewards,” said Buttler. “He [Stokes] is the ultimate competitor. In anything he does, a hell of a lot of experience to bank on. He timed it perfectly — the impetus he and Moeen had took it away from Pakistan.”

Scoreboard

PAKISTAN:

Batters & mode of dismissals R B 4s 6s SR

Mohammad Rizwan b Curran 15 14 0 1 107.14

Babar Azam c & b Rashid 32 28 2 0 114.28

Mohammad Haris c Stokes b Rashid 8 12 1 0 66.66

Shan Masood c Livingstone b Curran 38 28 2 1 135.71

Iftikhar Ahmed c Buttler b Stokes 0 6 0 0 0.00

Shadab Khan c Woakes b Jordan 20 14 2 0 142.85

Mohammad Nawaz c Livingstone b Curran 5 7 0 0 71.42

Mohammad Wasim c Livingstone b Jordan 4 8 0 0 50.00

Shaheen Shah Afridi not out 5 3 1 0 166.66