ICC Mens T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament : Sam Curran
Sam Curran, the tournament’s player of the year, with his bowling at the “death” provided England with the last piece of the puzzle needed to transform Jos Buttler’s team into the Twenty20 world champions.
The soft spoken Curran delivered two of the best T20 World Cup spells, capping off England’s successful tournament in Australia. In the first Super 12 match, he took 5-10 in 3.4 overs to dismiss Afghanistan for 112, and in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, he took 3-12 from four overs, including the crucial dismissals of Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood, to restrict Pakistan to 137-8.
Nearly all of the Melbourne Cricket Ground was filled by a steady stream of Pakistani supporters. In the sea of green that covered the stands, there were also England supporters, but they were hard to spot. Jos Buttler’s team, however, felt comfortable. And as Sunday night dwindled, England triumphed in the championship game of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup by a margin of five wickets.
However, it wasn’t simple because England took a knock in the first over. Alex Hales was castled by Shaheen Afridi after he ducked one back. In the second over, Buttler clipped fours off Naseem Shah, and Phil Salt inner-edged past fine-leg, easing some of the pressure.
At T20 World Cups, death bowling has historically been England’s bane. Carlos Brathwaite escaped Ben Stokes’ control in 2016. Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, and Chris Woakes in 2021 allowed 57 runs in three overs, giving New Zealand a spot in the championship game with six balls remaining. In his capacity as a Sky Sports pundit, Sam Curran observed that semifinal. Little did he know that, a year after that, he would be standing in the center of the MCG as England’s solution to their death bowling woes and, after taking 3 for 12 against Pakistan, as player of the final and the tournament.
