Pakistan vs England at the MCG: It’s 1992 all over again

 

Have the two most dangerous teams in this year’s T20 World Cup set themselves a date at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground for Sunday’s final?

It would seem so, given how Pakistan have resurrected themselves after consecutive defeats to India and Zimbabwe to win four out of four and storm into the final with a distinctly green shade of 1992 all over this astounding campaign in Australia and how, despite not hitting anywhere near top gear, England reached the final four where they finally showed how devastating their batting can be.

An outrageous opening stand worth 170* in 16 overs between Jos Buttler and Alex Hales saw England book their place in the T20 World Cup final just 24 hours after Babar Azam returned to form to steer his resurgent team to victory over New Zealand. And this sets up a terrific clash between England, ODI World Cup winners, and Pakistan, who are in their first T20 World Cup final since winning the title in 2009.

Almost eight years on from the day they crashed to the ODI World Cup defeat to Bangladesh that proved the catalyst for their white-ball revamp, England will believe that can defeat this unpredictable Pakistan team. Pakistan, having mounted a comeback very few could have predicted, will back themselves to pull off another win given the unbelievable momentum they have gained.

However, it is the weather that threatens to have the final say, unfortunately, because there is currently a 95% chance of rainfall on Sunday and the identical amount for Monday, the reserve day.

If we get a match, any sort of match, will it come down to two deliveries of quality left-arm pace to two experienced England middle-order batsmen, just as 30 years ago at the MCG in the ODI World Cup final? Or will England underline their immense white-ball credentials and add the T20 prize that eluded them in 2016 and 2021?

 

TEAM NEWS

 

PAKISTAN

Why tinker with what’s working so well? Now with Babar and Mohammad Rizwan getting runs, and the 21-year-old Mohammad Haris injecting much-needed pizazz at No 3, this team looks even more dangerous.

Pakistan likely XI: 1 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3

Mohammad Haris, 4 Shan Masood, 5 Iftikhar Ahmed, 6 Shadab Khan,

7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Mohammad Wasim, 9 Naseem Shah, 10

Shaheen Afridi, 11 Haris Rauf

 

ENGLAND

Mark Wood and Dawid Malan sat out the semi-final with injury and it seems the same team will be played.

England likely XI: 1 Jos Buttler (capt/wk), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Phil Salt, 4

Ben Stokes, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Sam

Curran, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Chris Jordan

 

PITCH & CONDITIONS

Rain has been a factor all tournament and it once again it looms as the villain for Sunday’s final. The ICC has a reserve day scheduled, but everyone involved will want the match to be completed on Sunday, even with overs reduced and DLS coming into effect. In the final, at least 10 overs have to be bowled to the side batting second for it to be constituted an official match.

PREDICTION

Babar’s team is mercurial and riding on some sort of freak power that has been fueled by self-belief, some help from South Africa’s choke versus Netherlands and, in the words of Pakistan’s bowling coach Saqlain Mushtaq, the “forces of nature”. Buttler’s team is running on high and no doubt after demolishing India in Adelaide the spirit will be unbelievable inside the camp, because on paper this is the most well-balanced team in the tournament.

But as to who will go the World Cup glory, that is tough to call. For confidence and skill, it looks like England, unless Pakistan’s bowlers can derail Buttler and Hales early.