T20 World Cup: Pakistan set 138–run target for England in final

MELBOURNE: Pakistan managed to score 137 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final after being put in to bat first by England skipper Jos Buttler on Sunday.

Captain Babar Azam (32) and Shan Masood (38) made starts but England’s bowlers never let the South Asians settle and wickets tumbled in the final overs as they crumbled to finish on 137 for eight.

Seam-bowling all-rounder Sam Curran finished with miserly figures of 3-12 off his four overs, bowling Mohammad Rizwan for 15 for the first wicket then grabbing another two scalps in the death overs.

Leg-spinner Adil Rashid (2-22) was also instrumental in restricting Pakistan, taking a brilliant caught-and-bowled to dismiss Babar after removing number three Mohammad Haris for eight.

England need to score 138 runs to lift the T20 World Cup trophy for the second time.

Heavy rain could disrupt the Melbourne Cricket Ground showdown and even see the teams crowned joint champions if unable to complete a match of at least 10 overs per side by the end of the reserve day on Monday.

However, conditions should hold up long enough to deliver a contest between the two nations who played for the 50-overs World Cup 30 years ago at the MCG.

Officials announced

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the match officials for the highly-anticipated final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Experienced South African umpire Marais Erasmus and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena will serve as the on-field umpires amid the mega final.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Chris Gaffaney and Australia’s Paul Reiffel will assume the duties of the third and fourth umpires respectively.

The final will be supervised by Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).

‘Quality fast bowling vs quality batting’: Mathew Hayden

Pakistan team mentor Matthew Hayden termed the T20 World Cup final a contest between the Green Shirts’ quality bowling and England’s quality batting, saying that both teams have all the bases covered for the big clash.

Speaking at a press conference at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday, where the Pakistan team have been undergoing training before the final, Hayden said that his side has four quick bowlers who could make an impact and create some sustainable damage to the dangerous England batting line.

Pointing at India’s deficiencies in the second semi-final the other day, former Australian cricketer observed that the side was short of a leg-spinner and had fewer genuine bowling options than Pakistan.