England beat Pakistan to win T20 World Cup final

MELBOURNE - After a month of action, England have just been crowned T20 World Cup champions, beating Pakistan by five wickets in Melbourne.

England won the toss and elected to bowl first.  

They looked to have just enough in restricting Pakistan to 137 for eight in their 20 overs.

Sam Curran was the pick of England’s bowlers, taking three wickets for just 12 runs in his four overs, with no boundaries taken against him.

For the 2009 champions, Shan Masood top-scored with 38 off 28 balls as captain Babar Azam chipped in with 32, also off 28 balls.

Needing 138 for victory, the dangerous opening partnership between Jos Buttler and Alex Hales was broken with Shaheen Afridi’s dismissal of Hales in the first over.

Buttler was out two wickets later, and despite a middle-order wobble, England were able to hold on to beat Pakistan by five wickets.

Ben Stokes hit the winning runs as England became the first dual white-ball champions, holding both the 50- and 20-over titles.