The No.2 T20 side, England are set to compete in the World T20 Cup final against Pakistan, the surprise finalists. England possess a stronger batting lineup than Pakistan, whereas the Men in Green have a superior bowling attack. There will be many key battles like Buttler vs Afridi, Azam vs Woakes, which will decide the outcome of the match.
Both the teams are looking to win their 2nd T20 Cup and are in good run-of-form. England have only lost one match and won 4 matches in this tournament. Pakistan on the other hand, lost their opening 2 fixtures but bounced back with 4 successive victories to qualify for the finals.
Date & Time
Pakistan and England go head-to-head in the final of the World T20 Cup on 13th November at 1:30 PM IST, 08:00 AM GMT / 07:00 PM LOCAL. If the play cannot be completed on Sunday, there is a reserve day for the final on 14th November for the completion of final at 9:30 AM IST, 04:00 AM GMT / 03:00 PM LOCAL.
Venue & Pitch Report
The birthplace of Test Cricket and ODI Cricket, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is all set to host the Grand Finale of the 2022 World T20 Cup. The 90,000-seater, grand stadium is all sold out for the first-ever T20 finals in the continent of Oceania.
Clouds are looming over the past few days in Melbourne and the final would be played under overcast conditions. England prosper in such conditions and have a definite advantage over their opponents.
The Melbourne pitch is an excellent batting track and bowlers get little to no help from the surface. However, pacers can trouble batters with the new ball under overcast conditions. Both Pakistan and England possess strong pace attacks and would be looking to field first after winning the toss.
Players To Watch Out For
S. Afridi
The leader of the Pakistan pace attack is back on song despite playing with an injury. The left-arm seamer can make the English batters dance to his tune and sets the tone for the rest of the bowlers as well. With 10 wickets in 6 matches, Afridi is the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan in this World T20 Cup. In 7 matches against England, Afridi has claimed 7 wickets with a personal best performance of 3/30.
J. Buttler
The most prized wicket that Afridi and Pakistan bowlers would want is that of English skipper J. Buttler. Coming on the back of a match winning knock of 80* against India, he can single-handedly turn the tide of a match. His batting records against Pakistan in T20s are not up to his level but in the 2022 World T20 Cup, Buttler has scored 199 runs in 5 matches at an average of 49.75.
Probable XI
Pakistan and England are expected to name an unchanged lineup from their previous matches. M. Wood and D. Malan can be introduced in the England squad if they manage to get fit in time and clear regulation fitness tests.
Here’s the probable XI for the 2022 World T20 Cup Final:
Pakistan: Md. Rizwan (wk), B Azam (c), Md. Haris, S Masood, I Ahmed, S Khan, Md. Nawaz, Md. Wasim, N Shah, H Rauf, S Afridi
England: J Buttler (c & wk), A Hales, B Stokes, P Salt, H Brooks, L Livingstone, M Ali, S Curran, C Woakes, C Jordan, A Rashid
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