It’s time for the summit clash of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. The historic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will host this highly anticipated contest, where Pakistan will lock horns with England on November 13.
With both teams being the two former T20 World Cup champions, the winner of the crunch tie will join the West Indies on the elite list of nations to have won the biggest T20 silverware twice.
At the Super 12 stage, Pakistan were on the verge of being eliminated but rallied to win three straight games going into the semifinals. They secured a spot in the T20 World Cup final for the first time in 13 years by defeating New Zealand by seven wickets in their semifinal match.
England, on the other hand, defeated Sri Lanka in their last Super 12 encounter to guarantee their place in the T20 World Cup 2022's knockout stages. They humbled mighty India by ten wickets in their semi-final match to set a final date with Pakistan.
With the ultimate T20 World Cup in the offing, a cracking game of cricket beckons between Pakistan and England. The match in Melbourne also offers both teams a chance to break a number of records as well. Let's take a look at the top three of them.
#3 Shadab Khan can become Pakistan's leading wicket-taker in T20Is
One of the best T20I players for Pakistan at the moment, Shadab Khan has had a terrific T20 World Cup 2022 campaign so far. The 24-year-old has not only come up with crucial cameos with the bat but is also Pakistan's joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with ten wickets in six games.
With 97 T20I scalps in 83 matches, the wily leg-spinner is also Pakistan's joint-leading wicket-taker in T20 internationals. If Shadab manages to pick up one more scalp on Thursday, he will surpass Shahid Afridi to become the Men in Green's highest T20I wicket-taker.
Moreover, if Shadab takes three or more wickets against England today, he will become only the first Pakistani to scalp 100 T20 international wickets.
#2 Mohammad Rizwan can become the first player to amass 1000 T20I runs in a single year twice
Pakistan's talisman up front with the bat, Mohammad Rizwan has been one of the most consistent run-getters in T20Is in recent times. The final clash against England offers a golden opportunity for the wicket-keeper batter to etch multiple personal milestones to his name.
With 981 T20I runs so far this year, Rizwan requires just 19 more runs to become the first-ever player to accumulate 1000 T20I runs in a single calendar year twice. The Pakistani opener also had a terrific 2021 where he amassed 1326 runs (the most by any batter in a single year) in 26 T20I innings for Pakistan.
Apart from this, if Rizwan manages to make at least 60 runs on Thursday, he will go past Suryakumar Yadav's record for scoring the most T20I runs in 2022. The flamboyant Indian batter has made 1040 T20I runs in 29 matches while Rizwan has hit 981 T20I runs this year in just 24 matches.
#1 England can become the first-ever team to hold both 50-over World Cup and T20 World Cup simultaneously
A rejuvenated white-ball side post the 2015 World Cup, Team England have been a force to be reckoned with in limited overs cricket for some time now. The Three Lions are on the verge of creating another piece of history at the MCG.
If the Jos Buttler-led unit manages to trounce Pakistan to lift the coveted T20 title, they will become the first-ever international team to have won both the ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup simultaneously.
Under the leadership of Eoin Morgan, England hosted and won the last 50-over World Cup held in 2019.
The only other teams that have come close to achieving the feat were Australia and India. While Australia, who won the 2007 edition of the ODI World Cup, failed to win the finals of the 2010 T20 World Cup.
Likewise, India lost the 2012 T20 World Cup final against Sri Lanka, despite having beaten them to clinch the 2011 ODI World Cup.
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