They gave their all
ISLAMABAD
Ben Stokes and Sam Curran starred as England edged Pakistan to win the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday and become the sport’s first dual white-ball champions, holding both the 50- and 20-over titles.
Jos Buttler’s side held Pakistan to 137-8 in front of a partisan 80,462 fans at a heaving Melbourne Cricket Ground before Stokes’s unbeaten 52 steered them to a five-wicket victory with six balls remaining.
Although the green shirts fell short in during the first innings, they almost made the match with superb bowling. Pakistan pacers led by Shaheen and Haris Rauf did a remarkable job of keeping their team in the hunt despite just 137 to defend.
However, an untimely injury to star pacer Shaheen Afridi a ball into the 16th over forced Babar Azam to turn to part-timer Iftikhar Ahmed.
Here’s what fans in Pakistan, from politicians to analysts, had to say about today’s innings.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif credited the team for “hard and brave” fightback as he hailed the bowling performance. “We are proud of our boys in green for making it to the final match of this mega tournament,” he tweeted.
