T20 World Cup 2022: "I will back Pakistan" - Sanjay Bangar on their final clash against England

Sanjay Bangar backs Pakistan to beat England in the T20 World Cup 2022 final in Melbourne on Sunday, November 13.

The Men in Green qualified for the final after registering a seven-wicket win against New Zealand in the first semi-final in Sydney on Wednesday, November 9. Jos Buttler and Co. crushed India by 10 wickets a day later at the Adelaide Oval in the other last-four clash.

While previewing the game on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Bangar picked Babar Azam and Co. as the favorites. He reasoned:

"I will back Pakistan because bowlers win tournaments. That's where Pakistan, with the kind of bowling attack that they have, four quality quicks, they have the wrist-spin and if they require, they also have the option of the left-arm spinner, I don't think they will use that option that much."

Bangar added that Shadab Khan's all-round skills and the possibility of reverse swing also give Pakistan the edge. The former Indian batting coach elaborated:

"Shadab Khan - with the kind of all-round abilities that he possesses, the kind of attack that they have, reverse swing coming into play at some point in time, we already saw that, so I feel Pakistan slightly ahead of England at this moment."

Shadab has been one of Pakistan's star performers in the T20 World Cup. The spin-bowling all-rounder has scalped 10 wickets in six games at an excellent economy of 6.59 and has scored 78 runs at a strike rate of 177.27.

---

"Probably both teams, at least from the batting perspective, are peaking at the right time" - Sanjay Bangar

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan strung together a 105-run partnership against New Zealand.

Bangar was further asked about the contest between the opening pairs of the two sides. He responded:

"Probably both teams, at least from the batting perspective, are peaking at the right time. Pakistan were struggling right throughout to get that partnership between Rizwan and Babar, and there they come in a semi-final game on a wicket which was holding up, probably a difficult chase as compared to the chase we saw in the India-England game."

Bangar reckons the emergence of Mohammad Haris as a swashbuckling batter, coupled with the back-in-form opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, gives Pakistan the upper hand in the batting department as well. The cricketer-turned-commentator said:

"That was outstanding from their point of view, their confidence would be up because if you perform under adverse conditions, when you take up that bigger challenge, you are in a better mind space. Their No. 3 Haris coming in and being an impactful player, again man-for-man batting wise also I am still tilting towards Pakistan."

Haris has smashed 89 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 161.81 in the three matches he has played. He is the only specialist batter in the Pakistan side to have scored an average of more than eight runs per over.