At a packed MCG on Sunday evening, Jos Buttler’s England inflicted a 5-wicket defeat on Pakistan to be crowned T20 World Champions for the second time. Once again, it was Ben Stokes who led his team to glory, this time with an unbeaten half-century that took England over the line with one over to spare.
An all-round bowling effort led by Sam Curran’s brilliant three-fer restricted Pakistan to under 140, with Shan Masood (38 off 28) leading the charge with the bat. In response, England lost Alex Hales in the first over, followed by two more wickets in the Powerplay that pegged them on the back foot. But Stokes led a commendable recovery, first with young Harry Brooks and later with Moeen Ali to keep England in the hunt. En route his first-ever T20I fifty, he smashed five fours and six, eventually hitting the winning run to take his team home.
This is England’s second ICC trophy in four years, having clinched their maiden ODI World Cup trophy back in 2019 under Eoin Morgan. This time around, it was under Joss, their new white-ball skipper playing his first ICC event as captain. The opener led from the front with the bat as well, his tally of 225 runs in 6 matches at an average of 45.00 being fourth on the list of the tournament’s leading run-getters.
It has been a year to remember for Jos, who also finished the 2022 IPL season with the Orange Cap, with four centuries and a deserving place as the finalist.
