T20 WC 2022 Final, Pakistan vs England, Stats Review: Ben Stokes’ maiden T20I fifty, England’s second T20 WC glory, and other stats

Ben Stokes, the hero of the 2019 WC Final, guided England to yet another ICC title as they sealed a historic five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the final to clinch their second T20 World Cup title. Stokes’ unbeaten knock of 52 and Sam Curran’s brilliant spell of 3/12 (4) helped Jos Buttler and his men to win the trophy thus becoming the first team to hold both ODI and T20 WC trophies at the same time. With this, England also equaled West Indies’ record of winning two 20-over marquee events.

Speaking about how the final encounter panned out, Buttler won the toss and opted to field first at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. Openers Mohammad Rizwan and skipper Babar Azam made 15 and 32 respectively while Mohammad Haris got dismissed for just eight. Shan Masood top-scored for his side with his knock of 38 off 28 with no valuable contribution from any other player. Curran was the pick of the England bowlers for his solid spell in which he gave away just three-run per over with three scalps. Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan also delivered crucial spells of 2/22 and 2/27 respectively as Buttler’s side restricted Pakistan to just 137/8 in 20 overs.

Chasing just 138 for the glory, pacer Shaheen Afridi got rid of dangerous Alex Hales for just one while Buttler played a cameo of 26 off 17. Phil Salt amassed nine but it was Stokes who held the innings together. With England 84/4 and in a spot of bother, Stokes remained calm and cool to stay in the middle. Pakistan suffered a huge setback when Afridi got injured and was unable to complete his quota of overs. England made full use of it as Stokes hit his maiden T20I fifty (52* off 49) to seal another World Cup title for his team after winning the 2019 WC Final against New Zealand at Lord’s. Curran bagged both the Player of the Match and the Tournament award for picking up 13 wickets in the victorious campaign. The eighth edition of the T20 WC is done and dusted with England ruling the white-ball format.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers from the Final between Pakistan and England in the T20 WC 2022:

2 – England equaled West Indies’ record for winning the most T20 World Cup titles (2). The Caribbean side lifted the trophy in 2012 and 2016 while England grabbed the silverware in 2010 under the leadership of Paul Collingwood.

98 – Shadab Khan (98) is now the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan in T20Is. He surpassed Shahid Afridi’s tally of 97 scalps.

13 – Sam Curran has now taken the most wickets (13) by an England bowler in a T20 World Cup edition. Ryan Sidebottom (2010), Graeme Swann (2010), and David Willey (2016) all took ten wickets each.

93.23 – Babar Azam managed to score 124 runs in seven innings at an average of 17.71 and a poor strike rate of just 93.23 in this World Cup.

1 – Ben Stokes scripted his maiden T20I half-century in 36 innings. His previous best score of 47* came against South Africa in the year 2020.

1 – England became the first team to hold both ODI and T20 World Cups at the same time. They defeated New Zealand in the 2019 ODI World Cup final.

3/12 – Curran registered the best bowling figures of 3/12 by a pacer in a T20 WC Final. Irfan Pathan and Josh Hazlewood both took 3/16 in the 2007 and 2021 editions respectively.

11 – In the last 11 knockout matches, chasing sides have sealed victories on all 11 occasions in T20 WCs.

1 – Curran became the first specialist bowler to win the Player of the Tournament award. He also became the first cricketer to win the Player of the Match award in the final and also the tournament prize.

3 – Overall, Curran recorded the third-best figures (3/12) in the summit clash of the WC. Ajantha Mendis took 4/12 while Sunil Narine 3/9, both in the 2012 Final.