England has shown that they are a class apart from the rest of the teams when it comes to white-ball cricket. And it has been quite evident for quite some time. They have been at their absolute best and have played every game with the same aggression. England has some serious depth in their batting and are packed with batsmen till the no 9 or 10 position. This has allowed them to play fearless cricket.
Their domination was quite evident even in the semifinals where they defeated India quite easily outplaying them in all departments without much hassle. Firstly they restricted India to a very easy score of 170 on a batting-friendly Adelaide pitch. And then the sheer dominance and brilliance with which they chased the target of 170 runs like it was nothing, winning the game by 10 wickets to set up a World Cup final with Pakistan.
And then came the big day…
England won the toss and decided to put Pakistan to bat first. They started brilliantly with the ball dismissing Rizwan early and then not letting Pakistan score as many runs as they should have in the powerplay. And Pakistan were not in the game from the beginning and England did not let them come back into it from there. Pakistan kept losing wickets and England were quite miserly with the ball giving away absolutely nothing. Pakistan could only manage a score of 137/8 in their 20 overs. Sam Curran was again brilliant with the ball as he has been throughout the tournament.
England knew the game was theirs to lose from there. To Pakistan’s credit, they did all they could have done with the ball. Shaheen dismissed Alex Hales cheaply but he could not manage to bring Pakistan back into the game as much as he would have liked. Pakistan chipped in with wickets at crucial times but they did not have much to bowl with.
England chased the target down in 19 overs itself winning by 5 wickets and lifting the World Cup trophy.
England Create History
After their win in the finals, England have now become the first-ever team to hold two world championships at the same time. This England side is the beacon of excellence when it comes to white-ball cricket. They have been simply outstanding in the white ball formats. They now hold both the 50-over and 20-over World Cup trophies. If England can manage to win the current World Test Championship, they will have conquered everything there is to be conquered in cricket.
It all started with captain Eoin Morgan trying to make his side aggressive and play a certain brand of Cricket. And now even after his retirement, the legacy continues and now England holds two World Cup trophies at the same time. Do you think England have what it takes to lift the test championship as well to establish sheer dominance in the world of cricket? Do let us know in the comments below.
