Ben Stokes and Sam Curran starred with bat and ball respectively to help England win the 2022 T20 World Cup with a five-wicket win over Pakistan in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Six years after Stokes was left heartbroken in the 2016 final at Kolkata when Carlos Brathwaite hit him for four consecutive sixes in the final over, Stokes finally found redemption as he stayed till the end with an unbeaten 52 to seal England’s second T20 World Cup trophy. The win also makes England the first-ever side in men’s international cricket to hold two World Cup trophies at the same time, after Stokes played a pivotal role in the 2019 ODI World Cup final win at home.
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At the post match presentation, Stokes credited Curran for the win.
“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,” Stokes said.
Curran, who made comeback from an injury earlier this year, has been England’s go to’ bowler in the competition and he proved that on the big stage with brilliant figures of 4-0-12-3.
At the post match presentation, Curran said that the ‘Player of the Match Award’ should be given to Stokes and not him.
“I don’t think I should be getting this, I think the way Ben Stokes played there, to get a fifty in a final and he does it so many times for us, he should get this,” Curran said.
“Incredibly special (to have Stokes). He is someone I look up to and always turns up when the team needs him, people question him but there’s no questioning him, he’s the man,” he added.
Sam Curran, who picked up 13 wickets, was also presented the ‘Player of the World Cup’, becoming the first specialist bowler to win the award.
“We are going to enjoy this occasion and it is very special. Big square boundaries, so I knew my into the wicket type bowling would work and try to make them hit square of the wicket. We felt the wicket was not as good as we thought it would be. It was nipping around everywhere and it was challenge to chase. I go into the wicket with my slower balls and try to keep the batsmen guessing. We are World Champions, how good,” he said.
“To be honest, I am little bit lost for words, it has been a great tournament. First time for me in a World Cup and we have won it. Amazing crowd. I wanted to be adaptable coming into the tournament. I haven’t bowled much at the death before and that is one area I want to keep improving. I want to improve my batting though it is tough to get to bat in this line-up. How good is it to be a World Champ,” he added.
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