Ben Stokes strapped his teammates on his broad shoulders and carried his country to another World Cup victory as England stamped itself as the premier white-ball side of the generation at the MCG on Sunday night.
In front of a heaving and partisan crowd of 80,462, England’s Three Lions tamed the fighting Tigers from Pakistan to secure their second T20 world title with a five-wicket victory.
The scoreboard will show England ran down the target of 138 with an over remaining, but that did not reflect the tension that accompanied much of the run chase.
Pakistan’s high-octane pace attack sent shockwaves through the England dressing room, knocking over their top three in an eventful powerplay.
They dared to dream when Harry Brook holed out to Shaheen Shah Afridi in the 13th over, but the wicket came at a huge cost.
In taking the catch, Shaheen injured his left leg and, though he returned to the bowling crease after leaving the field, he lasted just one ball before trudging off again.
Ben Stokes again enhanced his reputation as a big-game player.Credit:Getty Images
The game turned on the injury, as replacement bowler Iftikhar Ahmed was creamed for 13 from the remaining five balls against Stokes, who knew the time was right to strike.
As he was in the 2019 World Cup, Stokes was the hero for England, his unbeaten 52 off 49 balls his first international half-century in the shortest format.
A laughingstock in 2015, England are now the unrivalled white ball kings – the first men’s team to hold both World Cups at the same time.
Stokes’ feats with the bat matched the side’s clinical performance with the ball. All-rounder Sam Curran and leggie Adil Rashid set the tone for the game with an exemplary display of T20 bowling. Curran was named player of the match, and player of the tournament, for his 3-12 from four overs, though Rashid also had strong claims.
The pair combined for the figures of 5-34 from eight overs, sapping all momentum from Pakistan’s innings at a time when they were looking to launch.
Though Pakistan could not match the efforts of their predecessors from 30 years ago, they fought to the very last ball, as requested by their former prime minister and captain Imran Khan.
England’s players storm out onto the MCG to celebrate victory.Credit:Getty Images
They will wonder what could have been had Shaheen been able to complete his four overs, though the reality is they blew the game with the bat.
To the disappointment of a partisan Pakistan crowd, rarely were the men in green able to exert any pressure on England’s disciplined attack, which, aside from a few extras early, turned in a near flawless display.
If they had their time again, perhaps opening pair Mohammad Rizwan and Babar would have taken the game on more. Instead, their innings mirrored that of India’s in the semi, but without the blistering final flourish.
England captain Jos Buttler proudly holds the Twenty20 World Cup trophy.Credit:AP Photo
The first boundary did not come until the fourth over, and just 39 runs were garnered from the power play.
Their hopes of setting a competitive total rested with Babar and Shan Masood, who added 39 in four overs through urgent running rather than big hitting, but neither man could kick on to produce the agenda-setting knock their side needed. Fittingly, they fell to Rashid and Curran respectively.
Statistically, Rashid may not have had the best of tournaments but scratch beyond the surface and the numbers will reveal a player who stepped up in the three games that mattered most.
Frugal in what was effectively a quarter-final against Sri Lanka, Rashid tied down India in the semi and applied the handbrake on Pakistan. His final 12 overs this campaign yielded the figures of 4-58.
None of his wickets was more vital than that of Babar, who, cramped by a wrong’un which spun more than he expected, could do no more than bunt the delivery back to the bowler.
Masood punished England’s least accomplished Liam Livingstone in his 38 off 28 balls but was outsmarted by Curran, stepping to leg and unable to generate enough power to delivery on off stump to clear deep mid-wicket.
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