England’s all-rounder Ben Stokes gave credit to the bowlers after they restricted Pakistan to 137 runs in the all-important T20 World Cup final at the iconic MCG on Sunday. Buttler won the toss and decided to bowl first and the England bowlers were right on the money from the get-go.
Sam Curran provided the first breakthrough as he sent back Mohammad Rizwan. Pakistan could only manage 39-1 in the PowerPlay overs and England’s bowlers kept the screws on in the middle overs.
Adil Rashid accounted for the dangerous Mohammad Haris and then dismissed the Pakistan captain Babar Azam. Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals and thus could not get the momentum on their side.
Rashid scalped two wickets while Curran took three wickets in his fine spell. The duo conceded a total of 34 runs in the eight overs they bowled collectively and they played a key role in keeping Pakistan batters at bay. Stokes also got the wicket of Iftikhar Ahmed and conceded 32 runs in his quota of four overs.
Ben Stokes said after the game, “In finals especially when chasing.. you probably forget all the hard work before that, how we bowled, 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. With that (defeat to Ireland) being so early in the competition we obviously had to address it, say what had to be said, and then let it go. In tournaments like these, you can’t carry baggage with you, that was a little blip on the way, credit to Ireland for turning up and beating us, but the best teams learn from their mistakes and do not let it affect them. Pretty good evening. Representing your country in World Cups is amazing.. but it has been a good one.”
On the other hand, Stokes also delivered with the bat as he scored an unbeaten knock of 52 runs off just 49 balls to help England get over the line.
Furthermore, Moeen Ali also played his part as he scored 19 runs off 13 balls and took the pressure off Stokes’ shoulders when the required rate was rising.
Ali said after the emphatic win, “This is one of my best days of cricketing career. I feel as a team we deserved it, over a long period of time we have played some amazing cricket, obviously fell short but the semis and then today to win against a brilliant Pakistan side is an amazing feeling, especially in front of fans and family. It was just about keeping my intent, if I get out I get out, being positive and it was the right balance to Stokesy, he played some great shots and put in a crucial partnership.”
