No match involving Pakistan can ever be a calm, collected, and cold affair. Here we were, at the sprawling Melbourne Cricket Ground, with the entire Pakistani nation exhorting their side, even as the outnumbered English too tried to make as much noise as they could.
The former went quiet after the first inning – surely 137 won’t really challenge the English batting? But when it is Pakistan, you never know. Nor did the English, almost till the end, when some cool calculations from Ben Stokes (once again) and the massive loss of Shaheen Shah Afridi for the Pakistan attack made a telling difference – one that was just a little too much in the end as the English carried away the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 title.
Pakistan cricket is all about passion – the smiles and tears come close to one another, as do the accolades and accusations. Already, social media is alive with questions about how many dot balls the batters played and how the openers fared.
But then, this is what makes all the spectators that watch sub-continental cricket, be amazed at, or even irritated with. As when it comes to sheer passion, few can match nations like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. This is where the real spirit of cricket lives.
Who would have thought the battle would go that far into the night. Once England had managed to restrict the Pakistani batting to that moderate total, it was expected that they would win at a canter. But that didn’t happen.
The English never stopped attacking and were on the offensive right from the go when chasing the total, so the near role reversal gives massive credit to the Pakistan bowlers.
Afridi’s initial inroad of removing Alex Hales seemed to have been tempered by Jos Buttler’s attack, then Haris Rauf sent Phil Salt back and it was back to level-pegging.
Sadly, for Pakistan, they were agonisingly short of what could be a telling total. Conjecture is easy, but chasing 160, or even 150, would have been an immense job for England.
The plusses for the Pakistan side were plenty, though their batting philosophy took another hit on Sunday. The openers were hesitant, in spite of an evident effort, and the propensity to play too many dots is something they need to address.
Also, Mohammad Haris is a hitter, but not always a calculated hitter and the English bowlers had his measure from the beginning. Losing two early was never the best ingredient for a big total and that worked against them in the long run.
But the sub-continental teams cannot really be applauded for tinkering realistically with their batting line-ups throughout the tournament and the final was no different.
As for England, the spin bowlers were going to be crucial and while Liam Livingstone’s only over was carted around, Adil Rashid, who has been a revelation throughout the tournament and before for England, was in peak form. His 2/22 including a googly that completely bamboozled Babar Azam, was crucial in the final analysis.
As were Sam Curran’s overs. The left-armer is not tearaway, but has immense confidence and control. It took something extraordinary from Hardik Pandya in the semi-final to rattle Curran, but in the title round, the Pakistan batters didn’t have any formula to counter him.
Figures of 3/12 in a final off four overs are amazing. He and Rashid essentially won it for England.
But this story won’t be over without mentioning the Pakistan bowling. Defending such a poor total, they bowled with pure fire. Afridi was on song till he limped out, while Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah had the batters jumping, especially in the middle of the inning when they were distinctly unlucky that their away-going deliveries missed the edge of Buttler and Stokes’ bats time and again, delivery after delivery.
There was a time when they were distinctly ahead of the equation, with England needing 50 runs off 36 deliveries. But the loss of Afridi at such a crucial time and then the assault that Stokes essayed on Iftikhar Ahmed, who had to bowl five balls of Afridi’s unfinished third over, made a massive difference in the end.
Who knows where the match would have ended, had Afridi bowled those 11 deliveries. But then, luck is an integral part of any game and England won it, fair and square. But when it comes to winning hearts, Pakistan were way ahead.
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.