England sealed their second ICC T20 World Cup as they sailed to a five-wicket win over Babar Azam-led Pakistan in Melbourne.
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Pakistan were put to bat first by England following the toss and made 137 for the loss of 8 wickets at the end of 20 overs. Shan Masood was the highest scorer for the men in green as skipper Azam added 32 runs off 28 deliveries.
England chased down the target led by Ben Stokes’ half-century as Jos Butler added 26 runs to break Pakistani hearts.
“Congratulations to England team,” Pakistani captain Azam said after the game.
He went on to thank the supporters who turned up to the tournament, “We felt like everyone came here to support us, thank you so much.”
Pakistan had a roller coaster of a series as they went from the verge of being eliminated in the group stages to sealing a spot in the finals after some dramatic turn of events, both from their end and due to the results of games elsewhere.
“The way the team has gone in the last four matches is incredible. I told the boys to play their natural game, with freedom,” Azam continued.
The opener, who had struggled for form coming into the tournament, found it hard for runs to come by at the initial phases of the event in Australia.
But he made his contributions to his nation known with his crucial half-century in the semi-final match against New Zealand, which sealed the Asian side their berth in the title match.
However, Azam felt that his side came up a bit short with the willow on the big day, but appreciated the team’s effort as they fought tooth and nail.
“We were 20 runs short but the fight to the last over was unbelievable.”
Pakistan were boosted throughout the tournament by their strong bowling unit spearheaded by seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who limped off the field before being able to complete his four over in the finals, which turned out to be a crucial turning point in the game.
“Our bowling is one of the best but unfortunately, Shaheen’s injury cost us a different result, but that’s part of the game.”
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