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Signing off
Well, it was a great night (day here in India) of cricketing action and a match worthy of final. Pakistan’s bowling vs England’s batting really delivered. England is now the only team in the world to hold both the 50 overs and 20 overs World Cup at the same time. Well, that’s it then, thank you for all you who tuned it. Cricketing action though continues on Behind Cricket. Follow us on social media as well.
Sam Curran wins the Player of the Tournament award
England’s Sam Curran has been chosen as the Man of the Match for this match for taking 3 wickets. He has also been chosen as the Player of the Tournament for taking 13 wickets in the tournament.
England is the 2022 T20 World Champions
And there goes Ben Stokes with the winning runs. England beats Pakistan by 5 wickets and is 2022 T20 World Champion. After their 2019 50 overs World Cup victory, England is now the only team in the history to hold both the white ball format World Cup, milestone.
Moeen Ali joins the party
Moeen Ali joins the party. After Stokes took on Iftikhar, Moeen Ali has gone after Mohammad Wasim Jr as he scored 2 back-to-back boundaries. England now needs only 12 runs from the last 3 overs.
Ben Stokes smashes the part-timer
And there we go, Ben Stokes completely utilities the opportunity to take on the part-time bowler Iftikhar Ahmed. First a boundary and then a Six. Big moment in the match.
Ohh no, Shaheen Afridi is walking off mid over
Shaheen who got hurt while taking Harry Brook’s catch earlier, is seems to be still struggling from that catch and he has to walk-off after bowling 1 ball, Iftikhar Ahmed has been called in to bowl the 5 balls.
Pressure release shot
Pressure release shot for Ben Stokes as he smashes Haris Rauf’s last ball of the 15th over for a boundary. England now 97 runs for the loss of 4 wickets, they still need 41 runs from the last 5 overs.
Vice-captain strikes at a crucial moment
A pile of pressure has resulted in a big wicket for Pakistan. Shadab Khan strikes as Harry Brook goes for a big shot towards cover but Shaheen Afridi takes a good catch. England now 4 down for 84 runs.
Ben Stokes survives a brilliant over
Brilliant bowling in display from Pakistan’s pacer Naseem Shah and as he ends his over, that’s a big caught-behind appeal on Ben Stokes, the review shows that there was no edge on it and Pakistan loses their review.
Halfway point reached for England inning
Ok, so have reached the halfway point of England’s inning and the Three Lions have scored 77 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. Ben Stokes and Harry Brook currently at the crease. Match still hangs in balance for anyone to grab.
And that’s the big Fish Pakistan needed
This is big one, and it’s England captain Jos Buttler. Haris Rauf with a brilliant ball that knicks of Jos Buttler’s bat’s edge and Mohammad Rizwan takes a comfortable catch. Buttler departs for 26 runs and England now 3 down for 45 runs inside powerplay itself.
What a Shot!
After struggling the first 3 balls against Naseem Shah, Jos Buttler scoops the 4th ball over the wicketkeeper for a Six.
Haris Rauf strikes
Haris Rauf is brought into the attack and he gets the wicket of Phil Salt. Salt had hit him for a boundary of the first ball and then a brilliant reply from Haris in the 3rd ball. Salt goes for it but the connection was not good. Iftikhar takes the catch. England 32 for 2 in 4 overs.
LBW Appeal
Phil Salt misses Shaheen’s full toss and Pakistan appeals for a review. Babar Azam has gone for it. The ball hits the stump but the impact is umpires call, which means Phil Salt remains.
Buttler carrying his form from the semi-finals
Ohh no, Jos Buttler is in mood today, he smashes Naseem for 2 back-to-back fours and then Phil Salt from the other end as well. Massive over for England.
Bang! Bowled him!
Bowled him, Shaheen Afridi has got the party started. Alex Hales absolutely fails to read the ball and it blasts the stumps. England 1 down for 7 runs in 1st over, match on.
England inning begins
Right, Jos Buttler and Alex Hales on the crease, Shaheen has the ball.
That’s it from Pakistan inning
Mohammad Wasim is the 8th wicket down, but Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf sees it through. Pakistan post 137 runs for 8 wicket. England need only 138 runs to win.
Memorable match for Sam Curran
It’s a sitter for Liam Livingstone once again. Sam Curran now gets Mohammad Nawaz. Tries for a big one over long on, but well, Sam Curran is having a day with the ball. Pakistan now 7 down for 129 runs. Curran completes his 4 overs and gave only 12 runs and took 3 wickets, what a bowling.
Ohh no, trouble continues for Pakistan
And things aren’t going well for Pakistan at all. Shadab Khan, probably Pakistan’s best bet for smashing the ball towards the end is trapped by Chris Jordan for 20 runs. Pakistan now 6 down for 123 runs.
5th blow for Pakistan
Another blow for Pakistan. Shan Masood, who had settled in, gives away his wicket to Sam Curran. He goes for a big shot towards long on but is taken by Liam Livingstone. Pakistan 5 down for 121 runs.
Hundred for Pakistan in 15 overs
Hundred up for Pakistan, and it took them 15 overs to do so. Wait, have we seen this before, anyone remember Team India’s scoreline after 15 overs! A lot of work to do for Pakistan batters though.
Adil Rashid’s effective spell ends
Brilliant spell Adil Rashid as his overs comes to an end. He gave away only 22 runs in 4 overs and took 2 wickets, that also includes a wicket maiden over, brilliant stuff!
Ben Stokes strikes
Another injury break and another wicket right after that. Iftikhar Ahmed has been send packing by Ben Stokes. Pakistan now 4 down for 84 runs.
Babar Azam’s struggles comes to an end
Babar Azam’s struggles comes to an end. Adil Rashid back in attack and Babar hits it straight to Rashid’s hand. He departs after scoring 32 runs from 28 balls. Pakistan now 3 down.
Shan Masood goes big
Right! Shan Masood doing what needed the most now. Liam Livingstone comes to the attack but Shan Masood smashes him for back-to-back boundaries. First four and then a Six the next ball. Pakistan 84 for 2 in 11 overs.
10 overs up, Pakistan still needs a lot to do
And that’s half of the inning complete. 10 overs up and Pakistan still unable to get going as they have scored only 68 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. Babar Azam still on the crease and has scored 29 runs in 25 balls, Shan Masood is alongside him.
Interesting fact
Do you know, while Ben Stokes bowled no ball to start it off today, back in 1992, Pakistan scored their first run through a no ball also. What is happening here.
2nd wicket fall for Pakistan
A great decision from England captain Jos Buttler. He brings in Adil Rashid for the 8th wicket and he gets youngster Mohammad Haris in the first ball of the over. He went for a big shot straight, but it’s a easy catch for Ben Stokes.
Powerplay over
And that’s the end of the powerplay. Just 39 runs for the loss of 1 wicket. Slow and steady start for Pakistan but they need to accelerate soon.
Rizwan out
First wicket for England. Sam Curran gets the danger man Mohammad Rizwan.
Rizwan smashes it for a Six
And he smashes it, Mohammad Rizwan opens up the boundary score with a 6 against Chris Woakes. It took Pakistan 3.1 overs to score their first boundary. Pakistan on 23 runs now.
First over done
First over complete, 8 runs of it, a good over for Ben Stokes given a no ball to start it all. We still await first boundary from Pakistan batters.
No Ball, ohh nooo
And the first ball of the match is a no ball, Ben Stokes has over stepped it. Follows it with a wide and then a dot ball on free hit.
Off we go
Here we go, it’s Mohammad Rizwan facing England’s Test captain Ben Stokes with the ball
1:25 PM IST
National Anthem time
Both the teams are out on the ground led by the respective captains and it’s National Anthem time. First England followed by Pakistan’s. Right! we are all set for the big battle now.
1:00 PM IST
How teams line-up
After toss, we have the line-up from both the teams for the big one. No changes from both sides.
England have won the toss
Toss time! And it’s England captain Jos Buttler who wins the toss and he has opted to bowl first. Babar Azam also wanted to bowl first, but he will have to pad-up and hit the pitch in next 30 minutes, stay tuned!
12:45 PM IST
Toss Dilemma
While most of the teams have won the match while batting first after winning the toss in this T20 World Cup 2022, could the final match pressure play a huge role and the winning captain decide to chase a set target or set target themselves, only Jos Buttler and Babar Azam knows answer to this. We are just moments away from the toss.
12:00 PM IST
What’s the weather like in Melbourne?
Rain has been predicted for the match timing for most of the week heading into this ultimate class. However, as we reached the matchday, it looks like the rain Gods also want an exciting battle of bat and ball. While cloud still looming over Melbourne, the chances of rain has certainly decreased from 95% to less than 20%. Let’s hope for an exciting cricketing action without any interruption.
Road to Ultimate Battleground
It was an intense and the one of the most exciting T20 World Cup ever as most of the teams had proved their metal in the competition. But in the end, it is Jos Buttler’s England and Babar Azam’s Pakistan who crossed all the hurdles to make it this far. However, the journey wasn’t easy for both of them.
Talking about England, they finished 2nd in the Group 1 of the Super 12 round just behind group topper New Zealand. England registered 3 wins in their 5 matches with 1 ending in a loss and one against Australia ended in a no result due to rain. In the semi-final, they faced off Group 2’s topper India and decimated them to win by 10 wickets while chasing a target of 169 runs.
As for Pakistan, just like England, they also finished 2nd in their group behind India. It was a terrible start to the tournament for the Men in Green losing to both India and Zimbabwe in close call matches. However, they made a solid comeback and got a entry into the semi-final through a major shocker on the last of Super 12 round when South Africa lost to Netherlands in a match that would have guaranteed them the semi-finals slot instead of Pakistan. Pakistan meanwhile beat Bangladesh to book the 2nd place in the group. They faced off other group’s topper New Zealand in the semi-final 1 and won comfortably while chasing 153 albeit in the last over with 7 wickets in hand.
T20 World Cup 2022 Final: Pakistan vs England
Hello and welcome everyone to the Live Blog for the T20 World Cup 2022 Final match between Pakistan and England that is to be played from 1:30 PM IST at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne.