Pakistan vs England, Match Preview, ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Final

Pakistan vs England, Match Preview, ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Final. England and Pakistan take on each other in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Melbourne on November 13. Pakistan vs England final will be a rematch of the 1992 World Cup final in many ways. Both teams are past winners of the T20 World Cup. Pakistan won it in 2009 while England in 2010. This is England’s first final since the 2016 T20 World Cup while for Pakistan this is their first final in 13 years.

England defeated India in the second semi-final by 10 wickets in Adelaide to make their way to the final. Jos Buttler 80* and Alex Hales 86* added an unbeaten 170-run stand in 16 overs to win the game for their team.

Alex Hales and Jos Buttler put on an unbeaten stand of 170 to help England defeat India by 10 wickets in the second semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Adelaide on Thursday. Their partnership helped England in chasing down 169 with all 10 wickets and 24 balls to spare. Alex Hales remained unbeaten on 86 from just 47 deliveries while Jos Buttler scored 80* from 49 deliveries.

Earlier, Virat Kohli stepped up again to score a strokeful 50, while Hardik Pandya provided the much-needed flourish at the fag end of the innings, scoring 63 as India set a target of 169 runs for England in the 2nd T20 World Cup 2022 Semifinal in Adelaide, Australia.

England 170 for 0 (Hales 86*, Buttler 80*) beat India 168 for 6 (Hardik 63, Kohli 50, Jordan 3-43) by 10 wickets

The Jos Buttler-led side began their ICC T20 World Cup campaign with a win against Afghanistan. They lost their next game against Ireland in one of the upsets of the tournament. Back-to-back wins against New Zealand and Sri Lanka meant they made the semis and from there on advanced to the final.

Pakistan, on the other hand, began its campaign with back-to-back losses against India and Zimbabwe. They won their next two games against the Netherlands and South Africa. South Africa’s loss to the Netherlands meant that Pakistan needed to beat Bangladesh in their final Super 12 game which they did with ease.

They brought out their best game against the Kiwis in the first semi-final and are now dreaming to win their second T20 World Cup title after 2009. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan struck the fifties to come back into form in the knick of time. After a slow start, Shaheen Shah Afridi now has 10 wickets in the tournament and he took 2/24 against the Kiwis.

New Zealand managed 152 for 4, riding on Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten 35-ball 53 and skipper Kane Williamson’s 46 off 42 balls. Pakistan achieved the target with five balls to spare with Babar Azam (53 off 42) and Mohammad Rizwan (57 off 43) sharing a 105-run stand for the opening wicket.

Pakistan 153 for 3 (Rizwan 57, Babar 53, Boult 2-33) beat New Zealand 152 for 4 (Mitchell 53*, Williamson 46, Afridi 2-24) by seven wickets

Pakistan and England have played 28 T20Is between themselves with England winning 18 matches while Pakistan nine. The two sides recently met in a bilateral T20I series with England winning the series 4-3. In the last five matches between both teams, England have a head-to-head of 4-1.

Pakistan vs England, Match Preview, ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Final

England crushed India in the 1st semi-final with Alex Hales and Jos Buttler toying around with the Indian bowling attack. The England openers led the team to a 10-wicket win over the 2007 champions with 4 overs remaining. While this was disappointing for the Indian fans, it must have come as a warning for Pakistan.

England are coming to the game with a deep batting lineup and a spirited bowling attack. There will be no room for errors for Pakistan. The top-order will have to be on their best day if they are to put England under pressure. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam at the top while Mohammad Haris and Shan Masood in the middle order need to step on the gas and hurt England’s bowling attack.

Mark Wood missed the semi-final and Chris Jordan, who replaced him, made an impact with the ball, picking 3/43 in spite of having played just one game since his recovery from a finger injury. Pakistan’s key pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who went wicketless in the first two games, picked 10 wickets in the next four.

The stage is all set for an exciting T20 World Cup 2022 final at the MCG. Pakistan will be out to repeat their heroics of the 1992 World Cup where they beat England to be crowned champions.

Two back-to-back losses in their first two games almost had Pakistan on the flight back to Karachi. Even a single loss from their remaining four matches would have sent them home. Even winning all these games didn’t guarantee Pakistan a spot in the semi-finals. It took a special upset in Group 2 as the Netherlands beat South Africa to open up more possibilities.

Pakistan taking on Bangladesh became a virtual quarterfinal with both teams in the hunt for the semi-final berth. Shadab Khan’s inning against South Africa changed the game for Pakistan. It not only helped the team win that crucial encounter but also infused some much-needed belief in the middle order. The openers failed in the tournament from the start.

From the South Africa game onward, new match-winners started cropping up in the middle order. Shadab Khan, Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, and Iftikhar Ahmed all stepped up and gave the fans and the skipper a lot of confidence. Not to forget the all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz.

And finally, the openers, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam came to the party with a 105-runs opening stand in the semi-final against New Zealand. Mohammad Haris will be a key player to watch out for in the final. The bowlers will have a big task at hand. The opposition has an unbelievably deep batting lineup. And getting through that won’t be easy. Pakistan need to make a few replacements and get pacers in for spinners.

Pakistan Predicted Playing XI:

Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi

England will be coming to Melbourne with a lot of momentum and confidence from their semi-final victory over mighty India. Alex Hales has looked in great touch ever since he made his comeback into the national side. Jos Butler has also been consistent as an opener and led the team from the front. Harry Brook can be a vulnerability in the middle order. His last three scores have been 4 (5), 7 (3), and 18 (21). And these performances have come at 3 and 4.

Ben Stokes, who hasn’t found great success in T20 internationals is also a key player in the middle order. He was crucial in England’s win over Sri Lanka with a steady knock of unbeaten 42 off 36 balls. However, these two aren’t reliable when it comes to delivering impactful performances in the middle. As such, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone become ever more important in the England lineup.

Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone will be the key players to provide England with a good finish whether they bat first or second. Dawid Malan was also injured after the Sri Lanka clash and Phil Salt came in as a replacement in the semi-final.

It does look like a star-studded batting order that is also very deep as Sam Curran and Chris Woakes walk in to bat at 8 and 9. However, if the openers are back in the hut early, there’s only Ben Stokes who can play the role of an anchor to build the innings.

England Predicted Playing XI:

Jos Buttler (c & wk), Alex Hales, Philip Salt, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid