Melbourne, Nov 13 : England have won the toss and opted to field first against Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup final here at Melbourne Cricket Ground n Sunday.
England named an unchanged XI for the match, with fast bowler Mark Wood and key batter Dawid Malan unable to prove their fitness in time for the clash.
It means Chris Jordan and Phil Salt get another chance to perform, with Jordan fresh from his three-wicket haul against India in the semi-finals.
Pakistan have also named an unchanged XI for the match, with openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to get the first chance on a pitch that appears good for batting.
After winning the toss, England skipper Jos Buttler said: “Great energy in the stadium and we are looking forward to a great game. Both teams come into this final in red hot form and we are looking forward to a tough challenge. I think it is a good wicket and hopefully it will stay the same throughout. Obviously there’s a little bit of weather around which is why we chose to bowl. We start fresh today, we bring confidence from the other day but we know it counts for nothing today.”
Pakistan captain Babar Azam said: “We would’ve also bowled first but toss is not in our hands, so we will try to put runs on the board and put pressure on them. We have good momentum with us and will try to continue with it. We lost our first few games but have come back strongly and want to continue that in the final.
“A win always gives you confidence and with the way the team is playing we will give our 100 percent. Yes history repeats (referring to the 1992 World Cup), we will try to win this game and hold the cup.”
Playing XIs (from)
England: Jos Buttler(w/c), Alex Hales, Philip Salt, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid
Pakistan: Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi
