Pakistan T20 World Cup Final report card: Shaheen Afridi injury, batters ordinary outing leads to PAK downfall in summit clash

A combination of miserly bowling and poised batting proved the difference as England claimed its second T20 World Cup following its win in the West Indies in 2010.

After putting up 137 runs, Pakistan returned well during the powerplay, pressing the English batters. But with Shaheen Afridi leaving the field due to injury, England felt the pressure alleviated and quickly wrapped up the match with an over to spare.

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.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam (32) and Shan Masood (38) made starts but England’s bowlers never let men in green settle down and wickets tumbled in the final overs as they crumbled at the end.

Seam-bowling all-rounder Sam Curran finished with miserly figures of 3-12 off his four overs, bowling Mohammad Rizwan for 15 for the first wicket then grabbing another two scalps in the death overs. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid (2-22) was also instrumental in restricting Pakistan.

In reply, England chased down the target with ease as Ben Stokes once again guided them home.

Here’s a quick form-check after the game:

Rizwan (wk) (15 off 12)

Mohammed Rizwan started on a cautious note as he had been doing for the past one year. However, after playing out almost two overs, the right-hand batter failed to accelerate and fell to Sam Curran. It was the third time Rizwan would get out bowled off the inside edge in this tournament. It was the wobble-seam ball, not as much pace, and Rizwan could only drag and edge it back on to his stumps.

Babar Azam ( 32 off 28 )

Babar hit a couple of boundaries but as it has been for him generally, it was more of a struggle to keep the scoreboard alive. He perished after failing to read the googly as Rashid cramped him for room. Babar tried to cut the ball but hit it straight back to the bowler. An awkward shot ended in a simple caught and bowled.

Mohammad Haris ( 8 off 12 )

Mohammed Haris, the find of the tournament for Pakistan, generally struggled before Rashid ended his misery. He flighted one and enticed Haris to charge down the track but he was too close to the pitch of the delivery and was holed out at long-on.

Shan Masood ( 38 off 28 )

Shan Masood (38 off 28), who takes time before taking the attack back to the opposition camp, looked more aggressive than his skipper.
Shan would definitely curse himself as he built a launchpad for himself and thew it all away as Curran tested his patience with variations of cross seam deliveries and cutters.

Iftikhar Ahmed ( 0 off 6 )

Iftikhar Ahmed (0) would like to forget the evening as he was kept under tight leash by Rashid and then Stokes bowled one in the channel to get a nick as Pakistan slumped to 85 for 4 in the 13th over.

Shadab Khan ( 20 off 14 )

Shadab Khan promised a lot but delivered too little. Shadab Khan got a top edge as he attempts to pull a short delivery by Chris Jordan, and Chris Woakes took an easy catch. With the ball in hand, Shadab did not get as much turn as his counterpart Adil Rashid managed to extract. However, he was effective in his four-over spell, conceding just 20 runs and picking up a wicket.

Mohammad  Nawaz ( 5 off 7)

Mohammad  Nawaz had a day to forget as he failed to get going with the bat and did not get to bowl either.

Mohammad Wasim Jr ( 4 off 8 )

After an ordinary contribution with the bat, Mohammad Wasim Jr bowled four overs and conceded 38 runs and picked up a wicket.

Shaheen Afridi ( 5 off 3 )

After a terrific first over with the new ball where he snared the dangerous Alex Hales, Shaheen Shah Afridi’s outing became a disaster as he was injured and had to leave the field after catching Harry Brook for 20 in the deep. He returned to bowl one dot ball but could not go on, and it proved a turning point as Stokes and Moeen Ali (19) pushed England well ahead of the required run-rate in an attack on the bowlers.

Haris Rauf ( 1 off 1 )

Experienced Haris Rauf was the pick of the bowlers and delivered a brilliant spell of four overs where he conceded 23 runs and picked up two important wickets.

Nasim Shah

Young Nasim Shah bowled his heart out to prevent the game from becoming a one-sided game but Stokes soaked the pressure along with Ali as the duo put on a 48-run stand for the fifth wicket to nail the win that avenged England’s loss to the same rivals in the ’92 World Cup final.