T20 World Cup 2022: 3 factors that can determine the Pakistan vs England final
Pakistan will take on England in the T20 World Cup 2022 final at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday, November 13. Both teams registered comprehensive wins in their respective semi-final encounters. While Pakistan got the better of New Zealand by seven wickets, England thumped Team India with all 10 wickets in hand.
The summit clash on Sunday is being billed as a rematch of the 1992 ODI World Cup final that was played at the same venue. The amazing similarities between Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup and their ongoing campaign have gone viral. Imran Khan lifted Pakistan to a historic win 30 years back. Can Babar Azam follow in his footsteps?
England have come a long way since the 1990s and Jos Buttler and Co. will be confident of putting up a good showing against Pakistan on Sunday.
As cliche as it may sound, the better team on the day will walk away with the trophy. However, in this feature, we analyze three factors that could go a long way in determining the fate of the T20 World Cup 2022 final.
#1 Batting powerplay
If we observe the pattern of play in both semi-finals, the batting powerplay made a massive difference. In the first semi-final, the Kiwis struggled their way to 38/2 in the first six overs. They never regained momentum and finished on a disappointing 152 despite losing only four wickets.
In complete contrast, Pakistan raced away to 55/0. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan built on the start and went on to add 105 for the opening wicket. With no scoring rate pressure, the chasing side eased to victory and confirmed their berth in the final.
The India-England semi-final was an action replay in many ways. The Men in Blue were slow and reached 38/1 after six overs. Despite Hardik Pandya’s blitz at the end, India finished with a total of 168/6, which was, at best, a par score.
In response, England raced away to 63/0 in their first six overs. Their openers carried on the momentum and gave the Indian bowlers a serious thrashing.
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Going by how things panned out in the two semi-finals, the batting powerplay will once again be extremely crucial for both sides in the final. The cream of talent from both England and Pakistan will be on display in the initial overs - Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Chris Woakes.
It could all come down to who has the maximum impact in the first six overs.
#2 Battle of spinners - Shadab vs Rashid
Both Pakistan and England have quality leg-spinners in Shadab Khan and Adil Rashid, respectively. Shadab has picked up 10 wickets in six matches at an average of 14.50. He has claimed wickets at key junctures without giving away too many runs.
Pakistan will be looking for one final effort from their vice-captain in the summit clash. If Shadab can knock over a couple in the middle overs again, he could set England back.
In comparison to Shadab, Adil had an underwhelming start to the T20 World Cup, going wicketless in his first three matches. However, he has come into his own in the last couple of games. Although he picked up only one wicket each against Sri Lanka and India, he stifled the opposition by choking the flow of runs.
The 34-year-old was Player of the Match for his figures of 1/16 against Sri Lanka. In the semi-final against India, he gave away only 20 runs and picked up the most important wicket in the opposition line-up - Suryakumar Yadav.
In their diverse styles, Shadab and Rashid have played significant roles in their respective teams’ progress to the final. Do they have one more game-changing effort left in them?
#3 Fifth bowler quota
In a T20 match, even an additional five to 10 runs conceded or scored can make a huge difference. This is why the fifth bowler quota is hugely significant in this format. Pakistan have divided their fifth bowler quota between Mohammad Wasim Jr and Mohammad Nawaz.
They have not been their weak link since Wasim has been very good with the ball. He can bowl all four overs if needed as he is a frontline pacer after all. But Pakistan have been keen on giving left-arm spinner Nawaz a couple of overs in almost every game. Barring the first match against India, where he had to bowl a high-pressure last over, he has done a decent job. England, however, will look to attack him in the couple of overs that he bowls.
Although Ben Stokes has opened the bowling for England in recent T20 World Cup 2022 matches, he is effectively one of the extra bowling options, since Buttler is only utilizing him for a couple of overs. It remains to be seen whether England risk Stokes against the Babar-Rizwan duo. Stokes has done an okay job so far, but Pakistan might like to remind him of what happened the last time he bowled in a T20 World Cup final.
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Part-time spinner Liam Livingstone’s overs could be a bigger threat for England as far as conceding extra runs is concerned. Without a doubt, Pakistan’s batters would look to attack him. The gamble might work in England’s favor as well in case a couple of batters perish to rash strokes. The Englishmen have Moeen Ali too, but skipper Buttler hasn’t shown much confidence in the off-spinner.
Whoever bowls those crucial 'easy' overs for either side will have to ensure they leak as few runs as possible. At the end of the day, the margins in a close T20I game are very small.
Also Read: T20 World Cup 2022: 3 big mistakes in Team India’s campaign