England have produced an excellent bowling performance to restrict Pakistan to a below par score in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final at the MCG on Sunday.
Seamer Sam Curran (3/12) and spinner Adil Rashid (2/22) were near unplayable at the iconic Melbourne ground as Pakistan mustered together 137/8 after being put into bat by England captain Jos Buttler.
Buttler had no hesitation in opting to send Pakistan into bat first in overcast conditions in Melbourne and the decision paid dividends almost immediately as Curran picked up the key wicket of Mohammad Rizwan for 14.
Fellow opener Babar Azam tried to rescue the innings, but Rashid got the big wicket of the Pakistan skipper as the runs continued to dry up.
Shan Masood (38) and Shadab Khan (20) contributed some handy runs, but England will be confident of chasing down the score and claiming a second T20 World Cup title.
England named an unchanged XI for the match, with fast bowler Mark Wood and key batter Dawid Malan not proving their fitness in time for the clash.
It meant Chris Jordan and Phil Salt get another chance to perform, with Jordan fresh from his three-wicket haul against India in the semi-finals.
England: Jos Buttler (c, wk), Alex Hales, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi
