England defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the final of the T20 World Cup on Sunday to become the first team to hold both men’s World Cups simultaneously. Many former cricketers reacted to England’s sensational win and praised the thrilling contest.
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Pakistan’s premier pacer Shaheen Afridi suffered an injury in the 13th over of England’s chase while taking a catch off Shadab Khan’s bowling that resulted in the dismissal of Harry Brook. This, according to many, was probably a turning point in the game as Afridi couldn’t bowl afterwards.
The 22-year-old limped off the ground after seemingly jarring his right knee. However, Sunil Gavaskar thinks that Pakistan would have lost the final irrespective of Afridi’s injury.
The former India captain opined that England would have chased the target as Pakistan were 15-20 runs short.
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“I don’t think so, as they didn’t have enough runs on the board. They were around 15-20 runs short. Had they got to 150-155, they would have had a better chance and their bowlers would have had a bit of a cushion. But I don’t think the 10 deliveries that Shaheen didn’t bowl would have made that much of a difference. Maybe Pakistan would have got another wicket, but England would still have won,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying on India Today.
After England skipper Jos Butler won the toss and chose to bowl first, below par display saw Pakistan gathering 137 runs on the board in 20 overs.
But Pakistan gave a tough fight to England, courtesy their bowlers. Afridi provided a crucial breakthrough for his team when he castled in-form Alex Hales in the first over itself.
The youngster gave just 12 runs in the 2.1 overs that he bowled, and Pakistan dearly missed him in the death overs as Ben Stokes wreaked havoc. The England allrounder went on to complete a brilliant half-century and propel his team to a memorable victory.
After the match, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam also alluded to the fact that his team indeed missed Afridi.
“We were 20 runs short but the fight to the last over was unbelievable. Our bowling is one of the best, but unfortunately, Shaheen’s injury cost us a different result, but that’s part of the game,” Babar said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
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