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9th over: Pakistan 59-2 (Babar 27, Shan 5) Chris Jordan replaces Ben Stokes (2-0-14-0). Babar, starting to find that sweet, sweet spot in the middle of his bat, flicks a short hip ball for four.
The regulars and the two make it a good over for Pakistan – nine from him. Babar has 27 off 23 balls, Shan 5 off 6.
8th over: Pakistan 50-2 (Babar 22, Shan 1) Shan is bowled first by a good wicket. It goes away with a single sweep, which allows Rashid two balls to Babar. The match horn sounds! I wouldn’t say Babar is Rashid’s bunny, but he has struggled against him at times.
Babar works two pitches down the leg side for two, played with Fairy Liquid’s hands so that the ball takes longer to reach the fielder.
“Following the text from a crashed bus outside Nairobi,” writes Tom Wein. “My American colleagues were baffled by my protests that this trip clashed with the match. My Indian colleagues, who I usually rely on to explain cricket to me, were strangely unwilling to help. Thanks for the coverage!”
WICKET! Pakistan 45-2 (Haris c Stokes b Rashid 8)
Adil Rashid strikes with his first ball! Haris charged down the track and flicked the ball very high towards long on, where Stokes settled down to take a simple catch.
It’s only Rashid’s third wicket of the tournament, but he has bowled majestically in the last three matches (and one ball).
Haris’ exciting 12-ball innings comes to an end, and here comes Shan Masood.
7th over: Pakistan 45-1 (Babar 18, Haris 8) Both teams still look quite nervous. Stokes is back on the attack and hits a bouncer past Haris’ hook attempt. This really happened.
Haris leaves room to flick the next ball over Stokes’ head for two. He is batting with a lot of spookiness, but England know that his approach and ability to hit make him a dangerous customer. Six from above.
6th over: Pakistan 39-1 (Babar 17, Haris 4) Babar waves a poor ball from Woakes around the corner for four, then hurts a clip that lands safely on the leg side. Mike Atherton, commentating for Sky, says the ground looks a bit two-paced. I think Pakistan would take 150.
Haris takes on Woakes just before Salt at backward point and then misses another drive during the run. But he eventually gets off his seventh delivery, catching Woakes gracefully over fine-short leg for four.
“Sam Curran is one of the most mentally strong athletes it has ever been a pleasure to watch,” writes my colleague Daniel Harris. “To deliver something almost all the time, but especially when it’s needed most, and without being as good as the best in either discipline, the way he’s improved in T20 bowling, is pretty mind-blowing.”
What I like about him is that he has both a swagger and a very high sports IQ. The two don’t always go together.
Updated at 08.35 GMT
5th over: Pakistan 29-1 (Babar 11, Haris 0) Mohammad Haris, a classy runner whose hero is Jos Buttler, walks in at No. 3. He charges his third ball and misses an almighty sweep. The ball is shorter and slower, and Haris attempts an uppercut.
This is a brilliant over from Curran – a wicket and just one run. He is now the joint leading wicket-taker for Super 12 starters – he and Anrich Nortje have 11. Before the tournament, my nephew Aidan kept saying that Curran was 200/1 to be player of the tournament. I hope you bet on it.
“Good evening Rob from a strangely autumnal Melbourne,” says Patrick O’Brien. Cricket fans here focus on their IODs and SAMs as much as their DRSs. Here’s hoping the skies stay closed.”
Right: what is an IOD, what is a SAM and what the heck is a freakishly autumnal Melbourne.
Updated at 08.29 GMT
WICKET! Pakistan 29-1 (Rizwan b Curran 15)
A huge cover for England! Rizwan has dropped the ball after receiving treatment. He chased down a wide, swinging seam delivery, bent over the wicket and dragged it towards the stumps. Sam Curran, England’s bowler of the tournament, has another wicket.
Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan is bowled by England’s Sam Curran. Photo: Martin Keep/AFP/Getty Images Curran celebrates. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Updated at 08.41 GMT
4.1 overs: Pakistan 28-0 (Rizwan 15, Babar 11) Rizwan needs treatment after diving for a single and hitting his right eye against the helmet grill. There are some bruises but it looks good.
4th: Pakistan 28-0 (Rizwan 15, Babar 10) Only Virat Kohli and Aaron Finch have scored more T20 runs against England than these two. Rizwan adds six to his career total, Woakes sweeping, yes, Woakes sweeping, high over square leg. It was a slower ball, but still: shot!
Rizwan, busy as ever, steals a single off the next ball. He is the most infectious and effervescent cricketer, just a joy to watch even when he is shattering your partisan dreams.
Babar is yet to hit a boundary, but he gets three with a slightly mistimed shot at mid-on. I was going to say that if Babar doesn’t do it, the pitch can’t be great, but he’s gone most of the tournament without finding the middle ground. The great Osman Samiuddin wrote a fantastic piece on it.
“What is all this?” says Brendan Large. “That wasn’t in my plans. I was thinking I could sleep while you occasionally check the OBO for updates on how deep the MCG is underwater. Now I’ve got all the usual nerves and I have a sweaty. At least bowling first means England can’t lose it completely in the first half hour, but they could go a long way to winning if they get early wickets. Fingers crossed rain doesn’t play a decisive role here.” .
England’s Chris Woakes (right) reacts as Pakistan’s Muhammad Rizwan (left) and Babar Azam run between the wickets. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 08.36 GMT
3rd over: Pakistan 16-0 (Rizwan 7, Babar 6) Sam Curran replaces Stokes and beats Babar with his first and fifth deliveries, both angled over him from the wicket. A good over ends with a big inswinger that hits Babar high on the pad.
For most teams this would be a slow start. Pakistan does things differently.
2nd over: Pakistan 12-0 (Rizwan 4, Babar 5) Both teams have started nervously, England in particular, and Chris Woakes’ first ball is a leg-swing that Babar ignores.
There is also some swing for Woakes, who is bowling the ball as a result. He still hasn’t hit his line, and there are three singles down the leg side.
1st over: Pakistan 8-0 (Rizwan 3, Babar 3) The first delivery of the match is a no-ball from Ben Stokes. Tremendous things. It was a good delivery, actually, an outswinger at full length that Rizwan defended, but replays showed that he had been bowled over.
Stokes follows that up with a wide so the free kick curls in but makes the best of a bad job with a nasty lifter that hits Rizwan on the body. It is supposed to be a free hit for the batsman, not the bowler.
There is definitely some swing from Stokes, so a second could happen. Rizwan plays it close and runs to mid off and is well short of his ground when Jordan’s throw misses the stumps. England could not have wished for better fielding to have a chance of an early finish.
An eventful over concludes with Babar cutting a short ball for three. This is not the length to play, Benjamin. England played too short against Ireland in similar conditions and were punished.
England’s Ben Stokes (right) reacts after bowling a delivery. Photo: Mark Baker/AP
Updated at 08.16 GMT
Here comes Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, simply the best T20 opening partnership of all time. It looks like Ben Stokes will take the first knock. Let’s get this thing going.
Updated at 08.02 GMT
“My two sons are sitting on top of the MCG on what they say is a beautiful afternoon,” writes Rob Lewis. “Josh is naturally supporting England, but so is Will, who is my Aussie son. Who does the neutral go to in this final? The Indians for us for sure, but most of the red-blooded Aussies and I suspect others they will go through Pakistan…”
Certainly. I am an England fan and there is a huge part of my subconscious that wants Pakistan to win.
Headache tense and nervous? I will say!
Simon Burnton
The last time the MCG hosted a World Cup final (the Women’s T20 a couple of years ago) Katy Perry was the pre-match entertainment. We have Icehouse. His peak in the UK was a number 13 hit with Hey Little Girl in 1983.
The magic number
According to our PitchViz parity model, which uses ball tracking data, the nominal score at The MCG in this tournament is 159. With Pakistan’s bowling strength, anything north of 160 should put them in a fantastic place #T20WorldCupFinal
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) November 13, 2022
The players enter the field for the national anthems. The atmosphere at the MCG is incredible.
The players take the field. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Updated at 08.08 GMT
I’m going to have a coffee. See you in a few minutes for the final of the Blood World Cup.
“I think Buttler opting to bowl is a shrewd move in a potential 10-run thrashing,” says Tom Van der Gucht. “If rain materialises, there is a chance that Pakistan’s openers may have been dragged to 50 for no wickets and would miss the chance to accelerate through the gears after laying a solid platform. That pressure could also force them to to take more risks and also abandon their normal game plan.”
Yes, it’s ultimately the right decision, but I don’t think it’s the huge advantage it was in the early days of DLS T20 calculations.
“This is a replay of an occasion that virtually changed Pakistan’s destiny,” says Zain Malik, traveling back in time to March 25, 1993. “A Melbourne final that saw the legend and myth of individual triumph had become ingrained in Pakistan’s public memory.In all their glamour, colorful shirts and floodlights, heroes were born…