MELBOURNE: England outplayed Pakistan in all departments of the game as they won the Twenty20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday. They became double world champions by winning the 50 and 20-over world cups simultaneously.
It was as if the downpour predicted by the forecasters retreated to witness England team's all-round performance as Ben Stokes hit his first T20 fifty and Sam Curran (Player of the Tournament) rattled the Pakistanis with the ball leaving the team from the neighbourhood clueless.
Chasing a low total of 137, England reached the target by losing 5 wickets.
Pakistan's bowling was off the mark and costly lapses from the fielders scripted its fall. The fact that Shaheen Afridi injured himself while taking a catch proved to be the last nail in the coffin for the Pakistan side which indeed did demonstrate some fighting spirit.
But it was England's day.
During the initial phase of their batting, England were in for trouble as they lost their first wicket when Shaheen Afridi rattled the stumps of Alex Hales.
England were 32 for two at the end of 2 overs when Philip Salt followed Hales to the pavilion. Salt, who survived an LBW review when he was 6, was removed by Haris Rauf with his individual score at 10.
When England score was 32, Jos Butler's contribution was 20 runs off 10 balls. England were 37/2 in 4.2 overs and 43/2 in 5 overs. Butler fell for 26 in the 5th over and England were 45/3. At the end of 10 overs England were 77/3.
A much-needed breakthrough for Pakistan came when Harry Brook (20) was removed by Shadab Khan. England were then 85/4. Ben Stokes was still there in the crease at the time with 39 off 38 balls.
England lost the wicket of hard-hitting Moeen Ali when the score was 132. Moeen Ali was removed by Mohammad Wasim Jr when Moeen had made 19. But by the time it was all over for Pakistan.
Ben Stokes remained unbeaten on 52 off 49 balls as England clinched the title.
Earlier, tight bowling and remarkable fielding saw England restrict Pakistan to 137/8 in 20 overs.
Wickets fell at regular intervals for Pakistan after England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bowl first, as they did against India, possibly confident of chasing the target.
Pakistan's 100 came in 14.3 overs. They were 100/4 and then 119 for 4 at the end of 16 overs. They were 121/ 5 in 16.3 overs, 129/7 at the end of 18.3 overs and 131 for 8 in 19.3 overs.
For Pakistan, a responsible 32 from Babar Azam, Shan Masood (38) and Shadab Khan 20 kept the scoreboard ticking even as wickets fell at regular intervals.
Babar Azam fell for an awkward shot when he had scored 32 from 27 balls.
The runs mostly came more from singles and twos, rather than from massive hits. The big hits, if at all, came from the bat of captain Babar Azam and Shan Masood.
Riswan earlier survived a runout in the very first over of Ben Stokes. He would have been back in the pavilion if Chris Jordan had hit the stumps at the non-striker's end.
For England, Sam Curran took three wickets. His figures - 4-0-12-3. Adil Rashid took two crucial wickets, while Stokes took one and Chris Jordan two.
England captain Jos Butler, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra said: "It hasn't sunk in at all obviously. What an unbelievable effort from everyone to win the game. I am a bit speechless.
"It feels really different to 2019. It was a different time, difference place and a different group. I am just immensely proud. Both are just incredible."
Rain was widely forecast but had yet to arrive with a minimum of 10 overs per side needed to constitute a game, compared to five during the group stages.
If the match starts but cannot be finished, it will resume on Monday from where it was halted.
England, the 50-over World Cup champions who are looking to add to their sole T20 crown in 2010, named an unchanged side with batsman Dawid Malan and pace bowler Mark Wood still not fit, meaning Phil Salt and Chris Jordan retain their places.
Pakistan are also searching for a second T20 title after winning the tournament in 2009 and, like England, named an unchanged side.
Teams:
England: Jos Buttler (capt), Alex Hales, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI), Marais Erasmus (RSA)
TV umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZL)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)
(With inputs from AFP, PTI)