Drum roll please…. and the new T20 World Cup Champions are – England of course! They’ve done it, the boys fought hard and claimed a well-deserved victory in the T20 World Cup in Australia. England are the first nation ever to hold the ODI and T20 World Cups simultaneously, and we, as a nation, couldn’t be prouder. Big Kudos to the man of the hour Ben Stokes, who held his nerve to carry the team to victory, in what can only be described as a nail-biting finish.
Let’s take a closer look at the final and the journey England took to get there.
Group stages
England v Afghanistan – England won by five wickets
A solid opening game from England saw them put any nerves to bed after an impressive win over Afghanistan.
England v Ireland – Ireland won by 5 runs
This was a tough result for England and left them at risk of not making the knockout stages of the competition. Ireland got off to a cracking start 103-1 before England took the second wicket after 12 overs. It was clear England needed to up the intensity on the bowling front if they were going to stand any chance in the latter group stage matches.
England v Australia – match abandoned
Due to the match being abandoned, this certainly piled on the pressure for England in their last two matches – of which they had to win if they wanted to progress into the semi-finals.
England v New Zealand – England won by 20 runs
The rematch we had all been waiting for. England took to the field first, and with Buttler leading the way, England finished on a fantastic total of 179-6. 180 was the target, and from the last four overs New Zealand needed 57 runs, however, it was just out of reach and England walked away victorious.
England v Sri Lanka – England won by four wickets
Coming into this match, England knew they had to win to ensure they went through to the semis, instead of the host nation. Sri Lanka batted first and 142 was the target for England - superb bowling from Curran, Rashid and Wood saw to that.
England stepped up to the crease and it was a solid performance from Buttler, Hales and trusty Ben Stokes. Finishing 144-6, England were full of confidence heading into the semi-finals.
Semi Finals
England v India – England win by 10 wickets
England were up against stiff competition in the way of India, or at least that’s what we thought coming into the match. With India batting first, England knew they had to get some early wickets to ensure the target was manageable. After a half century form Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya, a respectable 168 was the target.
Over to England, and Buttler and Hales step up to the crease. And boy, did they step up! A batting masterclass from the England captain and his partner in crime Hales meant England produced a resounding 10-wicket win, yielding a near perfect game when it really mattered. Finals here we come!
The Finals
England v Pakistan
A crowd of 80,000 fans travelled to Melbourne Cricket Ground for the final - the stage was set, and the teams were ready. Buttler won the toss and Pakistan were ready to bat first; both teams remained unchanged from their semi-final wins.
Sam Curran was first to draw blood as Pakistan went 29-1, showing that England could set the bar high. Pakistan finished on 137-8 after their 20 overs with Curran taking 3-12, Rashid and Jordan claiming two each and Ben Stokes claiming the other.
It was England’s turn to deliver, and with a very reasonable score to chase, England needed to turn up the heat and get the job done.
It’s safe to say it wasn’t all plain sailing; Buttler, Hales and Salt went for some rather cheap wickets. After a pretty flat start from Pakistan, they certainly came back fighting. Thank goodness for Ben Stokes is all we can say, and it wasn’t to be the first time he saved us! Stokes kept his nerve and managed to fend off the dangerous charge from the Pakistan bowlers; this was certainly helped by the unfortunate injury to Shaheen Shah Afridi who was bowling remarkably. Shaheen had a cracking tournament, and although he tried to bowl through the pain, it just wasn’t meant to be.
Stokes finished on a well-deserved half-century and England won by five wickets to claim victory at the MCG, becoming the first men’s team to hold the 20-over and 50-over titles simultaneously.
What a tournament, what a team, what a performance.
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