Who says history does not repeat itself? Here we are in 2022, watching 1992 being repeated. Thirty years ago, Pakistan played England in the ODI World Cup final at the same venue. Isn’t it amazing? Three decades later, it is a similar scenario at the MCG. Pakistani fans are beginning to feel that stars are aligning and that the 1992 heroics, mastered by Imran Khan, could really be repeated at MCG come Sunday.
On their way though is a strong England outfit led by an in-form captain Jos Buttler. This is a side with plenty of T20 stars and specialists in it. Alex Hales, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, to name a few. And it won’t be that easy for the men in green shirts.
England are confident heading to the big final after running over India. The Three Lions showed their best game of the tournament so far to beat India in all three departments to ensure they were on the flight to Melbourne. India really were taken aback on Thursday night at Adelaide Oval. Rohit Sharma’s side was very tentative early on and stuttered at the start. Rohit and KL Rahul had a bad day and luckily for India, Virat got a half-century to steady the faltering innings and then Hardik Pandya provided the finishing touch, taking them to a decent total. But India were at least 25 runs short as England cruised to the total in no time.
With England reaching the final, we have two best T20 sides in the tournament playing in the mouth-watering final. Pakistan, with all the twists and turns they have shown in this tournament, will be exciting to watch in the summit clash. They should have been knocked out in the Super 12 stage really but their good fortune and fight have taken them till here and now one more game and they are world champions again.
If you look at it closely, both Pakistan and England have had similar journeys in the tournament. Both started off slowly and then peaked in the middle of the tournament. Buttler and Alex Hales got runs in the semi-final at the top and so did Rizwan and Babar. In the final, a unique battle of openers from both sides is shaping up nicely against the quality pace attack they have.
Mark Wood is an X Factor for England. If he is available to play, he will be a big boost for them. Ben Stokes started against India with the ball but ideally, they would want Wood upfront with his pace setting the tone maybe with Sam Curran from the other end to form a left and right arm variety. You can also go with Chris Woakes who swings both ways. But with Wood not available, England may go back to Stokes opening again for them.
Chris Jordan comes in again if Wood is not fit. He did well in the last match against India even if he looked a little rusty. It is not easy coming straight into the XI and performing when you have not got enough game time but that’s what international cricket is all about. You got to step up whenever you get an opportunity as an international cricketer.
If we talk about what could be the X factor for Pakistan, I think it is their whole bowling unit is. How brilliant have they been in this World Cup. Despite several ups and downs, one thing that has remained constant for them is their pace bowlers and their good show. With Shaheen Shah
Afridi now bowling at full pace and doing the damage early, England will need to be careful.
Buttler and Co should back the range and variety in their bowling attack, especially spin bowling with Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone and a quality leg-spinner in Adil Rashid.
It is difficult to pick a winner in this match. Both sides have their own strengths and it is all about who packs the punch on the day.
What is scary for England though is the nature of Pakistan cricket. This is a team which suddenly becomes a different side and have the tendency to make comebacks from nowhere as witnessed in this tournament.
The other thing that England will be missing and Pakistan can benefit from is the support at the stadium. Like in 1992, there will be many green flags and green shirts at MCG. It would not be wrong to say that Pakistan fans will outweigh the English here and this support that Babar Azam’s side gets can help them lift their morale when they are in the middle.
England however will back themselves just like they did vs India. They have a strong self-belief after what they did against India and would try and take that to the pitch.
There is a very exciting build up for the grand final. The weather is not supposed to be great though. There is a reserve day but let’s hope we don’t get use it. If it still rains, we need to have 10 overs minimum in each innings to get a result. Nobody likes a rain-marred game of cricket but that is one thing we cannot control. Let’s hope for a nail-biter at MCG on Sunday.
