T20 World Cup Final – All you need to know

Pakistan will take on England in the T20 World Cup final on Sunday in what is expected to be a thrilling match.

Initially, Pakistan looked unlikely to even reach the semi-finals after they lost their first two Super 12 matches but Babar Azam’s side were given a late reprieve following a thrilling victory over Bangladesh on an epic final day of group play coupled with the Netherlands’ upset over South Africa.

Four wins on the trot heading into the final – including an impressive seven-wicket triumph over New Zealand in the semis – means Pakistan are in form and firing at the right time.

England meanwhile have had the more conventional lead into the final, despite only qualifying for the semi-finals due to a more superior net run rate than tournament hosts Australia.

Their worst performance was the narrow loss to Ireland last month, while their victory over India in the semis was as close to the perfect match as you can get.

Going in to Sunday’s match, which will be played at the MCG in Melbourne, here’s what you need to know.

How to watch:

Tune in to Ariana Television to watch the match live from 12 noon Kabul time.

Pakistan’s path to the final:

October 23 – lost to India by four wickets
October 27 – lost to Zimbabwe by one run
October 30 – beat Netherlands by six wickets
November 3 – beat South Africa by 33 runs (DLS method)
November 6 – beat Bangladesh by five wickets
November 9 – beat New Zealand by seven wickets

England’s path to the final:

October 22 – beat Afghanistan by five wickets
October 26 – lost to Ireland by five runs (DLS method)
October 28 – Match Abandoned against Australia
November 1 – beat New Zealand by 20 runs
November 5 – beat Sri Lanka by four wickets
November 10 – beat India by 10 wickets

Key players:

Pakistan: Shaheen Afridi – There’s a handful of important players in Pakistan’s highly-talented line-up, but none as influential as opening bowler Shaheen Afridi.

Afridi bowls with tremendous pace and his ability to swing the new ball early in the innings should be of concern to England’s talented top-order.

His teammates seem to work off the energy that Afridi provides, so a brilliant opening spell can help turn the match Pakistan’s way.

England: Jos Buttler – The England captain showed his class with an unbeaten 80 during the semi-final victory over India and he is the key wicket that Pakistan will be chasing.

Buttler has the ability to win matches of his own bat and you only need to look at his record over the last few years for his country at T20I level and at the IPL earlier this year to see how good he is.

Buttler has 10 T20I half centuries and one century to his name in England colors over the last two years and at the IPL this year hit four centuries on his way to a whopping 863 runs at an average of 57.

If Buttler fires then England will be very hard to beat.

Specific playing conditions for final:

There must be a minimum of 10 overs bowled to the side batting second in the final, subject to a result not being achieved earlier and there is a reserve day in place (Monday November 14) should play not be completed on Sunday.

Every effort will be made for the match to be completed on Sunday, with any necessary reduction of overs taking place and only if the minimum number of overs necessary to constitute a match cannot be bowled on Sunday will the match be completed on the Monday.

If the match is to be completed on the Monday then the match will resume at the point where the last ball was played.

There is 30 minutes of extra time available for the match to be completed on Sunday, while an additional four hours of extra time is available on Monday for the match to be completed.

A Super Over will be played should scores be tied at the end of the match and if the weather interferes and the Super Over cannot be completed, then Pakistan and England will be declared joint winners.

If at any time the umpires together agree that the conditions of ground, weather or light, or any other circumstances are dangerous or unreasonable, they shall immediately suspend play, or not allow play to start or recommence.

The decision as to whether conditions are so bad as to warrant such action is one for the umpires alone to make, following consultation with ICC Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle.

Team news:

While Pakistan look reasonably settled with their line-up, the same can’t be said for England with Jos Buttler’s side monitoring the fitness of two key players ahead of the final.

Speedster Mark Wood and top-order batter Dawid Malan missed the semi-final over India and will be given every chance to recover in time to face Pakistan on Sunday.

If Wood is fit then he will play, meaning veteran seamer Chris Jordan may be the unlucky man to make way despite his three-wicket haul in the semis.

Malan may earn a recall if fit too, giving England another left-handed option with the bat at the top of their order.

Likely Teams:

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shan Masood, Mohammad Haris, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi

England: Alex Hales, Jos Buttler (c, wk), Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood