Undisputed kings: After Sam Curran, Adil Rashid work magic with ball, Ben Stokes steers England out of trouble to T20 crown

Melbourne, November 13

Ben Stokes held his nerve with an unbeaten half-century as England claimed their second T20 World Cup title with a five-wicket win over Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground today.

This is the icing on the cake, just immensely proud. A long journey and a few changes, but we’re reaping the rewards. Fantastic tournament. Jos Buttler, England captain

Thirty years after losing the 50-over World Cup final to Pakistan at the iconic ground, England turned the tables on the Pakistanis with brilliant death bowling and with Stokes finishing on 52 not out in a chase of 138 for victory. England became the first nation to hold both global white-ball titles, having won the 50-over World Cup on home soil in 2019.

Golden arm: Sam Curran celebrates with the trophy. REUTERS

In the nerve-jangling final win over New Zealand 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.”

All-rounder Sam Curran was the Player of the Match after finishing with miserly figures of 3/12 as Pakistan collapsed late to finish on 137/8, having been sent in to bat by England captain Jos Buttler. Curran was named the Player of the Tournament as well for consistent brilliance in death bowling.

With that (defeat to Ireland) being so early in the competition we obviously had to address it. In tournaments like these, you can’t carry baggage with you. Ben Stokes

A little bit lost for words. …we’re going to enjoy this occasion, very specialRs Sam Curran, player of the match and tournament

Adil Rashid and Sam Curran won us the game. It was a tricky wicket and one that you never felt in, so to restrict them to 130-odd, bowlers have to take a lot of credit for that Ben Stokes

“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 are going to enjoy this occasion, very special.”

Nervous moments

The heavy rain that had been forecast never hit the MCG as England endured some nervous moments before Stokes struck a single off Mohammad Wasim to seal victory with six balls to spare.

Leg-spinner Adil Rashid did the early damage for England with two wickets, including the key scalp of captain Babar Azam for 32, before Pakistan crumbled in the final overs, losing four wickets for 10 runs.

Pakistan will wonder what might have been, with talismanic paceman Shaheen Afridi breaking down with injury and leaving 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.

“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 Azam.

Curran on target

Earlier, Curran set the tone for England as he had opener Rizwan chopping onto his stumps for 15, breaking a 29-run opening partnership with Azam. Rashid struck with his first ball when Mohammad Haris (8) slogged one to long-on but was caught by Stokes. Rashid then made a brilliant caught-and-bowled dismissal of Azam for 32 in a wicket-maiden over. Stokes had Iftikhar Ahmed caught behind for a duck, leaving Pakistan in trouble at 85/4.

Though Shan Masood and Shadab Khan combined for 36 runs, Masood holed out for 38 with a miscued slog as Curran swung the momentum back towards England in the final overs. Masood’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 Afridi bowling Alex Hales for one run. Buttler lost another partner when Phil Salt pulled Haris Rauf straight to Iftikhar Ahmed at midwicket to be caught for 10.

A fired-up Rauf then had Buttler nick behind for 26 as Pakistan fought back by reducing England to 45/3. England were soon shackled by quality pace, with Stokes and Brook slowing to a crawl. With Afridi injured, Iftikhar had to bowl out his over and conceded 13 runs in it, with Stokes smashing a four and a six off 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 preeminent 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.” — Reuters

13 Sam Curran finished as the tournament’s second-highest wicket-taker with 13 scalps in six matches, at an average of 11.38 and an economy rate of 6.52

5/10 The left-arm medium-pacer had the best figures in the tournament. He took five wickets for just 10 runs against Afghanistan

2 England became only the second team after West Indies to win the T20 World Cup twice. They had also won the tournamnet in 2010 after beating Australia in the final

1 England became the first team to hold both the men’s World Cups simultaneously. They will defend their ODI title next year

Scoreboard

Pakistan

Runs Balls 4s 6s

Mohammad Rizwan b Curran 15 14 0 1

Babar Azam c & b Rashid 32 28 2 0

M Haris c Stokes b Rashid 8 12 1 0

S Masood c Livingstone b Curran 38 28 2 1

Iftikhar Ahmed c Buttler b Stokes 0 6 0 0

Shadab Khan c Woakes b Jordan 20 14 2 0

M Nawaz c Livingstone b Curran 5 7 0 0

M Wasim c Livingstone b Jordan 4 8 0 0

Shaheen Shah Afridi not out 5 3 1 0

Haris Rauf not out 1 1 0 0

Extras: (b 1, lb 1, nb 1, w 6) 9

Total: (8 wickets, 20 overs) 137

FOW: 1-29, 2-45, 3-84, 4-85, 5-121, 6-123, 7-129, 8-131

Bowling O M R W

Ben Stokes 4 0 32 1

Chris Woakes 3 0 26 0

Sam Curran 4 0 12 3

Adil Rashid 4 1 22 2

Chris Jordan 4 0 27 2

Liam Livingstone 1 0 16 0

England

Runs Balls 4s 6s

Jos Buttler c Rizwan b Haris Rauf 26 17 3 1

Alex Hales b Afridi 1 2 0 0

Phil Salt c Iftikhar b Haris Rauf 10 9 2 0

Ben Stokes not out 52 49 5 1

Harry Brook c Afridi b Shadab 20 23 1 0

Moeen Ali b Mohammad Wasim 19 13 3 0

Liam Livingstone not out 1 2 0 0

Extras: (lb 1, w 8) 9

Total: (5 wickets, 19 overs) 138

FOW: 1-7, 2-32, 3-45, 4-84, 5-132

Bowling O M R W

Shaheen Shah Afridi 2.1 0 13 1

Naseem Shah 4 0 30 0

Haris Rauf 4 0 23 2

Shadab Khan 4 0 20 1

Mohammad Wasim 4 0 38 1

Iftikhar Ahmed 0.5 0 13 0

Player of the Match and Tournament: Sam Curran