MELBOURNE: Pakistan set England a modest target of 138 for victory in the T20 World Cup final on Sunday after being sent in to bat by England captain Jos Buttler at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam (32) and Shan Masood (38) made starts but England’s bowlers never let the South Asians settle and wickets tumbled in the final overs as they crumbled to finish on 137 for eight.
Seam-bowling all-rounder Sam Curran finished with miserly figures of 3-12 off his four overs, bowling Mohammad Rizwan for 15 for the first wicket then grabbing another two scalps in the death overs.
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid (2-22) was also instrumental in restricting Pakistan, taking a brilliant caught-and-bowled to dismiss Babar after removing number three Mohammad Haris for eight.
Playing XI
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi.
England: Jos Buttler (c/wk), Alex Hales, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid.