Time heals everything – A famous quote is a live example of what truly was a memorable 20-20 World Cup in Australia. Six years ago, 2016 was arguably one of the darkest chapters in the life of Ben Stokes. Carlos Braithwaite smashed four sixes off Stokes’s over to help West Indies lift their second world title and what happened six years later is one of the fairytales that will be written in the golden book of cricket.
Despite being under a lot of pressure, the all-rounder smashed a glorying fifty to help England lift their second world title. It was a poetic justice that was witnessed at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, November 13.
England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and asked the Men in Green to bat first in the match. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who were terrific in the previous match, were expected to dominate the English pacers upfront but the exact opposite happened.
The openers were in shambles as Sam Curran and Adil Rashid absolutely dominated Pakistan’s batting order. Curran wisely used his variations and gave away just 12 runs in his four overs, notching three wickets while Rashid picked two giving away just 22 in his four.
After stumbling in the middle for the majority of the match, Pakistan put 137 on board, a score that definitely wasn’t enough to control the English side. Despite that, the Pakistani cricketers showed enough character to put England in trouble in the second innings. Despite losing a few wickets early on, Ben Stokes stuck to his roots and played some brilliant cricket, scoring 52 off 49 deliveries to script a magnificent win in favour of the English boys.
With that, they now became the first team in the history of cricket to be called the defending champions of both the ODI World Championship and 20-20 World Championship.
Now despite Stokes’ brilliance, Sam Curran was rightfully adjudged as the Man of the Match following his brilliant spell with the bowl on the night of the finals. The 24-year-old absolutely stunned the cricketing world throughout the tournament with his impactful performances, and in the end, the youngster finished as the second leading wicket-taker of the tournament, notching 13 wickets from six matches.
Here is how Twitter reacted following 20-20 World Cup final:
Congratulations @ECB_cricket. You are worthy champions.
Enjoy and celebrate this moment, and we look forward to hosting you in December for the three-Test series.#T20WorldCup | #PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/XYRzJgb7Wv
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 13, 2022
Credit to Pakistan. Few teams would have defended 137 the way they did. Best bowling team.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 13, 2022
Pakistan fans, you guys have nothing to feel shame abouts. You should be proud….of the Netherlands team.
— Tanmay Bhat (@thetanmay) November 13, 2022
Team Pakistan 🇵🇰 fought back hard & brave. Great bowling performance. But England 🏴 played better today. We are proud of our boys in green for making it to the final match of this mega tournament. 👏
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) November 13, 2022
We love u & proud of u all team Pakistan. We should all proud of the incredible journey to get to the final. U guys inspired many with ur resilience & team unity. Thank u team Pakistan for lovely & amazing memories #ICCT20WorldCup2022 pic.twitter.com/dmqmZeBRmg
— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) November 13, 2022
Well played England. Duly deserved for truly being outstanding in the white ball game for the last 5 years 👑 👑👑. Pakistan showed great spirit to get the final and will get even better.
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) November 13, 2022
Sorry brother
It’s call karma 💔💔💔 https://t.co/DpaIliRYkd
— Mohammad Shami (@MdShami11) November 13, 2022
I respect Pakistan cricket and have always supported their team, but how they mocked us after our defeat against England proved the whole country was built on hate for India. So happy seeing them cry and sad. Ultimate satisfaction #PAKvENG #QudratKaNizam
— Satish Ray (@SatishRay_) November 13, 2022
When we don't win the World Cup but Pakistan doesn't win either pic.twitter.com/8ONybF2tGV
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) November 13, 2022
Pakistan’s bowling made a match of it…to be honest, only Pakistan could’ve stretched England this far. Outstanding bowling unit. #T20WorldCupFinal
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) November 13, 2022
Well played boys ! Amazing campaign , congrats to all involved ! Well played Pakistan
— Jofra Archer (@JofraArcher) November 13, 2022
Have to say the @iShaheenAfridi Injury had a major impact on the outcome of the game .. Pakistan have once again been brilliant to watch .. they being so much to the world game .. 👍 #ICCT20WorldCup2022Final
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) November 13, 2022
Congratulations to England for playing a strong entertaining brand of cricket. Well played Pakistan for never giving up! Cricket was the winner #T20WorldCupFinal
— Sanath Jayasuriya (@Sanath07) November 13, 2022
Indians after Pakistan lost to England 😂🔥 : pic.twitter.com/HKcEy6evv6
— Chakku🇮🇳 (@iamChakku) November 13, 2022
