T20 WC Final: Ben Stokes slams his maiden T20I fifty
The heroics of Ben Stokes powered England to their second ICC T20 World Cup title on Sunday. Stokes' unbeaten 52 helped England chase 138 in a low-scoring final at the MCG. Interestingly, it was his maiden half-century in T20I cricket. England have become the first side to hold the T20 and ODI World Cup titles simultaneously. Here are the key stats.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man!
Stokes gains redemption after Carlos Brathwaite struck him for four consecutive sixes in the 2016 T20 World Cup final, which cost England the title. Six years later, the senior all-rounder bailed England out after they were in a spot of bother this time. He slammed his maiden T20I fifty in a big final. Stokes finished with an unbeaten 52 (49).
Stokes enters an elite club
Stokes has become just the third player after Gautam Gambhir and Kumar Sangakkara to slam fifties in both T20 and ODI World Cup finals. Stokes smashed an unbeaten 84 in the 2019 WC final before guiding England to win in the Super Over.
How did the final pan out?
Pakistan were off to a sluggish start after England captain Jos Buttler elected to field. The Men in Green managed 39/1 in the Powerplay, losing Mohammad Rizwan. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid and pacer Sam Curran then derailed Pakistan's batting line-up. Chris Jordan took two wickets as Pakistan scored 137/8. After the break, Pakistan bowlers reduced England to 84/4. Stokes and Moeen Ali brought England home.
Maiden T20I half-century for Stokes
The most important T20I knock of Stokes comes over a decade after burst onto international cricket. Stokes slammed his maiden T20I half-century in a high-voltage final. He now has 585 runs from 43 matches at an average of 21.66. The tally includes a strike rate of 128.00. It was the ninth time Stokes returned unbeaten in a T20I inning.
