Jos Buttler Adelaide Oval Alex Hales Andrew Balbirnie Britain Australia Ireland New Zealand India Melbourne Pakistan cricket Sporting T20 World Cup cup Jos Buttler Adelaide Oval Alex Hales Andrew Balbirnie Britain Australia Ireland New Zealand India Melbourne Pakistan

Hales storm, dazzling Kohli, upsets aplenty: top T20 World Cup moments

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England beat Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to win the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday and round off four weeks of high-octane action in Australia.AFP Sport looks at five top moments from the tournament.England perfectionIt was destined in the eyes of their fans to be an India versus Pakistan final.But nobody told openers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler as they put on an outstanding display of batting in the semi-final against India in one of the finest English displays of all time.In front of a packed pro-India crowd at the Adelaide Oval, unbeaten man-of-the-match Hales blasted 86 off 47 balls and skipper Buttler struck 80 not out in a scarcely believable 10-wicket annihilation.It was particularly satisfying for Hales, who only returned for the World Cup after more than three years in the international wilderness.Ireland delight Ireland came into the Super 12 stage with a giant-killing reputation after they knocked out two-time champions West Indies.But Andrew Balbirnie's team were not done there as they upset pre-tournament favourites and eventual champions England in a rain-hit match.Balbirnie led from the front with a brisk 62 in Melbourne to set a 158-run target and England were 105-5 when rain stopped play, five runs behind the DLS par score."It's amazing, kind of emotional," said man-of-the-match Balbirnie after another famous win.Australia nightmare Australia's title defence got off to a nightmare start and it ended up costing them a semi-final place.The hosts, holders and pre-tournament co-favourites -- along with England -- suffered an 89-run drubbing by New Zealand in the first game of the Super 12.It came back to haunt Aaron Finch's men as they finished below New Zealand and England in Group 1 on net run

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Proteas fast bowler Anrich Nortje has been named in the International Cricket Council's (ICC) official T20 World Cup Most Valuable Team of the tournament.
Yet, can England really ever prepare against a maverick Pakistan side which can pull a rabbit out of a hat at every turn? Can Adil Rashid dismiss Babar early? In turn, can Haris Rauf stop Alex Hales? Which star leggie, Shadab Khan or Adil Rashid, will have a bad day? Both sides have played a total of 10 T20Is since March 2021, with England having a 60% win record. This is one rivalry in which formulaic match-ups often don’t yield results and the best-laid plans can go awry. Plans B, C and D are important.

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