Melbourne: Have you heard of a cricketer saying that he is not worthy of the award after being adjudged Player of the World Cup final?
That was England seamer Sam Curran’s contention after his team beat Pakistan beat 5 wickets on Sunday to lift the T20 World Cup for the second time.
Was it modesty, or was Curran brutally honest?
Curran, who also received the Player of the Tournament award for bagging 13 wickets at an impressive economy of 6.52 runs per over, was undoubtedly England’s best bowler in the final. He claimed 3 wickets conceding just 12 runs in 4 overs, as Pakistan managed a moderate total of 137/8 in 20 overs.
If that was a stellar effort, no less significant was Ben Stokes’ unbeaten 52 which guided his team over the line after Pakistan bowlers threatened to make a match of it by reducing England to 45/3.
Some cricket pundits felt that Stokes could have been given the best player of the final award as the pitch was bowler-friendly and the task was more difficult for batsmen. Had Stokes not shown maturity and composure, England could have wilted under the pressure exerted by Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan.
