England beat Pakistan by five wickets in the final of the Twenty20 World Cup, thanks in large part to the efforts of Ben Stokes and Sam Curran

After Sam Curran’s outstanding performance with the ball had limited Pakistan to a below-average total of 137 runs, Ben Stokes smashed an unbeaten fifty to carry the team home and win the match. On Sunday, England was awarded the title of champion of the 2022 ICC Twenty20 World Cup after they were victorious over Pakistan by a score of 5 wickets in a match that ultimately turned out to be a comprehensive win.

This is England’s second victory in the Twenty20 World Cup, and it comes 12 years after Paul Collingwood’s team won the first ICC trophy for the “Three Lions” by defeating Australia and claiming the title in 2010.

After Sam Curran’s outstanding performance with the ball had limited Pakistan to a below-average total of 137 runs, Ben Stokes smashed an unbeaten fifty to carry the team home and win the match. As of right now, England is the only team in history to simultaneously hold both the 50-over World Cup and the Twenty20 World Cup crowns.

To keep themselves in the contest, Pakistan needed a bowling effort with a lot of heart, and they delivered exactly that.

After an unsatisfactory showing with the bat, Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled a magnificent delivery to dismiss England’s semi-final standout Alex Hales for a score of 1 in the very first over of the chase. This gave Pakistan the start they required after they had struggled with the bat.

Jos Buttler, the captain of England’s batting lineup, produced a number of deft strokes during the powerplay in order to get his team off to a strong start. Phil Salt’s brief time at the crease resulted in the scoring of two boundaries, but he was the first player to fall victim to Haris Rauf’s bowling. Salt gave Iftikhar an easy catch at mid-wicket, and the score for the “Three Lions” dropped to 32 for 2.

At the same time as a sea of green exploded in the arena-like Melbourne Cricket Ground, a visibly pumped-up Rauf returned to the field to take up the big wicket of Buttler (26).

At 45/3 with the powerplay still active, Pakistan had clawed their way back into the match, and a lot now rested on the wide shoulders of England’s 2019 World Cup hero Ben Stokes. Pakistan had fought their way back into the match.

The total was brought past 80 by Stokes and Brook, who also kept the asking rate within a safe range. However, Shadab Khan struck in his final over to remove Brook for 20, which brought the score to 84 for England.

As the asking rate began to increase, Naseem Shah produced an amazing comeback in the match by bowling two tight overs.

But things took a dramatic turn for the worse when Pakistan’s best fast bowler, Shaheen, was injured and had to be helped off the field after bowling the first delivery of the 16th over. Ben Stokes came dangerously close to being bowled out by the part-time off-spinner Iftikhar, who was given the ball to end the over.

After the ball was dropped short of Babar Azam at long off, Stokes proceeded to knock a boundary and six off of the following two deliveries, bringing the total runs needed down to 28, which needed to be scored off of 24 balls.

Moeen began the following over from Mohammad Wasim with two consecutive boundaries, and he finished it off with another one. At this point, England needed 12 runs off of three overs to win.

Mohammad Wasim brought an end to Ali’s 19-run cameo in order to keep Pakistan in the game when they needed 6 runs off of 11 balls.

After Buttler, the captain of England, won the toss, Pakistan was given the opportunity to bat first. The Pakistani team’s captain, Babar Azam, and opening partner, Mohammad Rizwan, made an effort to get off to a good start, but England’s Curran gave the early breakthrough by getting Rizwan out when he chopped onto his stumps for a score of 15 for himself.

In the powerplay, England allowed only 39 runs to be scored by Pakistan’s batsmen, demonstrating their ability to maintain tight control of the situation. The anchor was dropped by Babar, but wickets continued to fall around him. Mohammad Haris, who was just eight at the time, was unable to bring his offensive style to the fore in the championship match, and he ended up falling prey to Adil Rashid’s guile.