T20 WC Final: England and Pakistan look forward to bag their second title

Story by  ATV | Posted by  Nakul Shivani • 1 Years ago
Pakistan and England will play for this trophy on Sunday
Pakistan and England will play for this trophy on Sunday

 

Melbourne

In the summit clash of the ongoing T20 World Cup, England will lock horns with Pakistan on Sunday and both teams will look forward to capturing their second title.

England won their first title in 2010 defeating Ashes rivals Australia in the final by 7 wickets in the West Indies, while Pakistan bagged their maiden title in 2009 when they beat Sri Lanka by 8-wickets in England.

Pakistan had a rollercoaster campaign in the T20 World Cup this year.

Last-ball defeats to India and Zimbabwe seemed to have finished Pakistan's hopes before their T20 WC run had even really gotten going. And zero points from two games left them needing something approaching a miracle to make it through to the final four.

To a large extent they must thank the Dutch for helping them reach the last-four. With South Africa’s defeat at the hands of Netherlands, the Asian side needed to beat Bangladesh in their last league encounter to make it to the semifinals, which they expectedly did.

Babar and Rizwan pulled up their ninth-century partnership in the format for the opening wicket against New Zealand in the semi-finals, and they will be eager to build on that momentum against England's underappreciated bowling lineup.

For Pakistan to have a chance of lifting the World Cup, they must get off to a quick and safe start because it will be much simpler for shot-makers like Mohammad Haris, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Shadab Khan to enter the game, play their natural shots, and attack the slower bowlers.

With a total of 10 wickets from seven matches, Shaheen Afridi has been Pakistan's most productive pacer so far in Australia. Now it's time for fellow quicks Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah to step up and help their pace spearhead.

On the other hand, England are in great form which helped them evidently dismiss India in the semi-final. They completely batted the Asian giants out of contention to knock them out of the competition, and will now look forward to carrying on their blistering form against Pakistan as well.

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The English bowling unit has exceeded expectations in this tournament, but they fall short of Pakistan's bowling attack's calibre and menace. Therefore, they must attempt to rule Pakistan with their greatest asset, their batting.