Babar Azam opens up after Pakistan lost to England in T20 World Cup final

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Pakistan captain Babar Azam shared his opinion after his side lost to England in the final of the T20 World Cup 2022 on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, the 28-year-old said that Pakistan were 20 runs short while setting the target.

ALSO READ: Stokes, Curran star as England beat Pakistan to win T20 World Cup

Azam also said that Shaheen’s injury was one of the reasons why Pakistan lost the match.

"Congratulations to England team, we felt like everyone came here to support us, thank you so much,” said Azam.

“The way the team has gone in the last four matches [was] incredible. I told the boys to play their natural game, with freedom.

“We were 20 runs short [in the final] but fight to the last over was unbelievable. Our bowling is one of the best but unfortunately Shaheen's injury cost us a different result, but that's part of the game.

On the other hand, England skipper Jos Buttler was ecstatic after his side's victory in the final. 

"This is the icing on the cake, to win the T20 World Cup, just immensely proud. A long journey and a few changes, but we're reaping the rewards. Fantastic tournament," said Buttler. 

Buttler also heaped praise on Ben Stokes for scoring a crucial fifty in the final. 

"He [Stokes] is the ultimate competitor. In anything he does, a hell of a lot of experience to bank on, he timed it perfectly, the impetus he and Moeen had took it away from Pakistan," he said.

Ben Stokes and Sam Curran starred as England edged Pakistan by five wickets to win the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday and become the sport´s first dual white-ball champions, holding both the 50 and 20-over titles.

Jos Buttler´s side held Pakistan to 137-8 in front of a partisan 80,462 fans at a heaving Melbourne Cricket Ground, with player-of-the-match Curran bagging 3-12 and Adil Rashid chipping with 2-22.

In reply, England slumped to 49-3 in the sixth over as they struggled to get any momentum against a fiery pace attack, with boundaries hard to come by.

But Stokes (52 not out) and Moeen Ali (19) used their experience and cool heads to guide England to 138-5 with six balls to spare, climaxing a riveting tournament that spanned 45 games over nearly a month.