Fleming highlights Pakistan’s ‘massive mistake’ in T20 World Cup final
The Men in Green lost to England on Sunday
KARACHI: Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has highlighted the mistake which led to Pakistan’s defeat in the final of the T20 World Cup 2022 on Sunday.
Fleming believes that Pakistan fell behind in the game due to their approach in the final four overs while batting.
"[Pakistan were] 121 [119] for 4 in 16 overs. There's enough in that wicket to suggest that a 165-score is going to be a real good challenge," Fleming said on ESPNcricinfo's T20 Time Out show after the first innings. "There was inconsistent bounce, there was a little bit of movement on offer and it was turning.
"So as a unit, you should be saying that 'we've got some artillery here, we know that we just need to get a score on the board and we will be competitive'. The fact that the last four overs went for 16 [18] runs, I think that's a massive mistake.
"Even at 10 [runs per over], you get to 161 and if you have one good over, you get to 165 which I think is more than competitive given what we have seen. Especially given the turn, which was unexpected, and the little bit that's on offer for probably a quicker and more skilful pace attack. So yeah, there was a lot going on up to that point, but Pakistan missed a massive trick."
It must be noted that Ben Stokes and Sam Curran starred as England edged Pakistan to win the final 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, with player-of-the-match Curran bagging 3-12 and Adil Rashid chipping with 2-22.
In reply, England slumped to 49-3 in the sixth over as they struggled to get any momentum against a fiery pace attack, with boundaries hard to come by.
But Stokes (52 not out) and Moeen Ali (19) used their experience and cool heads to guide England to 138-5 with six balls to spare, climaxing a riveting tournament that spanned 45 games over nearly a month.
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