Now that we have come so far in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, it’s finally time that a competitive clash between Pakistan and England will decide T20 cricket’s new world champions
Pakistan and England have collided against each other 28 times in T20Is out of which England has won 18 times while Pakistan has managed to win 9 times and one match ended with no result.
Both the teams have faced each other twice in the T20 World cups and England has emerged victorious on both occasions.
Broadcasting Details: Star Sports network will broadcast live coverage of the match in India on television and digital platform Disney+ Hotstar (app, website)
Date and Time: 13th November, Sunday 1:30 pm IST / 8:00 am GMT / 7:00 pm Local
ENG vs PAK Team Previews
England
England was in group A in the Super 12 stage. Initially, their campaign didn’t go the way they would have wanted as they lost their second match to neighbours Ireland (upset). Their game against Australia which was probably a decider match for the semi-final spot ended as a washout.
But the Englishmen still went on beating the Kiwis and Lankans in two back-to-back clashes to qualify for the semis. And now they thrashed the tournament favourites India in the semis and that too in a one-sided victory.
Chasing 169, Hales (who scored 86 off 47) and Buttler (80 off 49) produced the greatest opening partnership in England’s T20 history. They never gave Indian bowlers a single chance to come back in the game and kept thrashing them throughout the inning.
Pakistan
From having the worst start in the tournament among all the top teams to qualifying for the finals of this year’s T20 World Cup, Pakistan has turned the tables and made a very astonishing comeback. Their journey to the final of this edition of the T20 World Cup is one scripted in heaven.
The Men in Green started their campaign with two last-ball edge-of-the-seat thrillers and both of them were snatched away by the opponents. Firstly a hope-shattering defeat against India in which victory was snatched away from their jaws. In the very next match, Zimbabwe defeated them by 1 run, again in a last-ball entertainer.
They were on the brink of elimination but never gave up and now destiny has brought them where nobody believed they could have reached. Pakistan also capitalised on this opportunity by playing their best game against the Kiwis in the semi-final and emerged victorious.
Pitch Report
The Melbourne Cricket Ground has hosted a total of 18 games so far in the T20I format.
7 out of these have been won by the team batting first and 10 times the chasing team emerged victorious while one match ended with no result.
MCG is considered to be one of the most competitive surfaces in the world. It offers a fine balance between bat and ball. While the bowlers get some assistance early on with mostly genuine bounce, as it gets old, the batsmen can play their strokes freely. However, generally, the spinners do not get much help at the MCG.
Moreover, three matches of the T20 World Cup held here ended as washouts and there are heavy chances of rain in the final as well both on the match and reserve days.
Probable Playing XIs
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Babar Azam (C), Shan Masood, Mohammed Haris, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah
England: Jos Buttler (C)(WK), Alex Hales, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid
Players to Watch Out For/Must Have Dream11 Picks
Mohammad Rizwan
Rizwan had a very poor form in the initial stages of this world cup. He scored 4 and 14 in his first two games against India and Zimbabwe and kept struggling.
The wicketkeeper-batsman scored some runs against the Netherlands but again failed for two consecutive matches and had little to no role in Pakistan’s qualification for the playoffs.
But now when needed the most, Rizwan played his finest knock in the T20 World Cup scoring 57 off 43 balls against New Zealand and also emerged as the man of the match.
He has found his form back when it really matters and will play a crucial role in giving a good start to Pakistan in the finals.
Shadab Khan
The Pakistani all-rounder has been the MVP for his team in this edition of the T20 World Cup. He has contributed through all three departments and is actually what we call a ‘3D Player’.
Shadab has taken 10 wickets in 6 matches at a bowling average of 14.5 so far in this edition and has been extremely economical giving away runs at just 6.59 economy. He also scored 52 off 22 against South Africa and helped his team clinch the victory in a do-or-die match
Jos Buttler
The English captain did not have a desirable start to his campaign as he scored a run-a-ball 18 against Afghanistan in the very first match and then a duck against Ireland. But he found his way back in the third match where he scored 73 off 47 against the Kiwis and led his team to victory.
Buttler is one of the most destructive batsmen in this format. He has the ability to hit the ball all over the ground, from the very start and makes good use of powerplay.
In the semi-final game against India as well, he scored an unbeaten 80 off 49 balls and made the chase look like a cakewalk along with his fellow opening partner Alex Hales.
Alex Hales
Hales has been the most successful batter of the English side in this edition of the T20 World cup. He is the only third batsman to cross the 200 runs mark in the Super 12 stage of this edition.
Alex played a major role in victories against New Zealand and Sri Lanka and now against India where he and Buttler set up a 170-run opening stand and chased the target in just 16 overs. He has scored 211 runs in this tournament at an average of 52.8 and a strike rate of 148.6
Key Matchups for ENG vs PAK
- Babar Azam vs Adil Rashid: 77 runs 61 balls 126.2 SR 3 outs
- Mohammad Rizwan vs Chris Jordan: 70 runs 42 balls 166.66 SR 1 out
- Mohammad Rizwan vs Adil Rashid: 87 runs 60 balls 145 SR 2 outs
- Shan Masood vs Adil Rashid: 46 runs 29 balls 158.6 SR 1 out.
- Shan Masood vs Chris Jordan: 10 runs 14 balls 71.4 SR 1 out
- Jos Buttler vs Shadab Khan: 21 runs 21 balls 100 SR 2 outs
- Alex Hales vs Haris Rauf: 26 runs 28 balls 92.85 SR 2 outs
- Phil Salt vs Mohammad Nawaz: 73 runs 43 balls 169.8 SR 1 out
- Phil Salt vs Haris Rauf: 18 runs 15 balls 120 SR 2 outs
- Liam Livingstone vs Haris Rauf: 51 runs 19 balls 268.42 SR 0 outs
- Liam Livingstone vs Shadab Khan: 90 runs 64 balls 140.6 SR 3 outs
ENG vs PAK Dream11 Team
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Match Prediction
Pakistan has very good momentum and their openers have also come back to form so we think now they have an upper hand over England and are the favourites to win the Final.
Shaheen Afridi might be the top performer in this encounter
