2022 T20 World Cup

Result

Player of the Match (Final)

Sam Curran, England

Tournament format

16 teams, with the same 12 nations that had reached the Super 12 stage in 2021 pre-qualified directly into this edition's 12-team "Super 12" stage (2 groups of 6); the other 4 places were decided by an 8-team First Round. Semi-finals then a final at the MCG.

Full match archive

Every match of the 2022 tournament, not just the final — all 44 group-stage, Super 8 and semi-final matches. See all 44 matches →

Final: match context

England became the first men's team to hold the ODI and T20 World Cup titles simultaneously, beating Pakistan by 5 wickets in front of a men's T20 World Cup final record crowd of 80,462 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Pakistan batted first and were restricted by tight England bowling throughout, with Sam Curran especially economical, finishing with figures of 3 for 12 from his 4 overs. Shan Masood top-scored with 38 and captain Babar Azam made 32, but Pakistan could only post 137 for 8 from their 20 overs -- a total that, on a used MCG pitch, still left the match finely poised. England's chase stumbled in the middle overs, slipping to 49 for 3 after six overs. A significant moment arrived when Pakistan's outstanding left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi took a catch to dismiss Harry Brook but injured his knee in the act of taking it, substantially reducing his effectiveness as a bowler for the remainder of the innings -- a turning point that blunted Pakistan's strongest attacking weapon at the moment England were most vulnerable. With England still needing 41 runs from the final five overs, Ben Stokes anchored the run chase, eventually finishing unbeaten on 52 off 49 balls -- his maiden Twenty20 international half-century -- and struck the winning run with six balls to spare. The innings made Stokes only the fifth batter in history to score a half-century (or century) in more than one ICC World Cup final, having already made a century in the dramatic 2019 ODI World Cup final. For England, the win completed a rare double: with the 2019 ODI World Cup already in the cabinet, England became the first team ever to hold both global white-ball titles at once, cementing a golden period for the national side across formats. For Pakistan, it was a second T20 World Cup final defeat -- after 2007 -- continuing what had become a recognisable narrative of Pakistan reaching the biggest ICC finals only to fall agonisingly short, a frustration that would only partly be answered by their strong runs in later tournaments. Shaheen Afridi's mid-match injury, suffered while making a crucial catch, added a layer of what-if to Pakistan's narrow defeat, with many observers noting how differently the final overs might have unfolded with their leading strike bowler fully fit.

Sources

• Wikipedia: 2022 Men's T20 World Cup final
• Wikipedia: 2022 Men's T20 World Cup
• ESPNcricinfo: England vs Pakistan, Final, match report