T20 World Cup 2022: I think the way Ben Stokes played, he deserves the Player of the Match award – Sam Curran

England’s rising star Sam Curran delivered on the big day for his team after the Three Lions defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the T20 World Cup final at the iconic MCG on Sunday. Curran returned with an impressive figure of 3-12 in his quota of four overs and bowled a total of 15 dot balls.

The youngster provided the first breakthrough as Mohammad Rizwan chopped the ball back onto the stumps. Curran conceded only five runs in the first two overs he bowled as he got the ball to swing both ways.

The youngster then accounted for a well-settled Shan Masood and dismissed Mohammad Nawaz. Thus, Curran played an instrumental role in restricting Pakistan to 137 runs after Jos Buttler won the toss and decided to bowl first.

However, the left-arm pacer feels Ben Stokes, who scored an unbeaten knock of 52 runs off just 49 balls, should have been awarded the Player of the Match. The Pakistan pace battery was right on the money and they made England sweat hard for their runs but Stokes once again showed his composure on the big stage in the big final to help his team win the T20 World Cup title.

Stokes was able to hold one end up and soaked in the pressure when his team needed him the most. Curran said he looks up to Ben Stokes and heaped all praise on the talismanic all-rounder.

Furthermore, Curran was awarded the Player of the Tournament for taking 13 wickets at an average of 11.38 and an economy rate of 6.50 in six matches.

Sam Curran said in the post-match presentation, “I don’t think I should be getting this, I think the way Ben Stokes played there, to get a fifty in a final and he does it so many times for us, he should get this (PoTM.). We are going to enjoy this occasion and it is very special. Big square boundaries, so I knew my into-the-wicket type bowling would work and try to make them hit square of the wicket. We felt the wicket was not as good as we thought it would be. It was nipping around everywhere and it was challenging to chase. I go into the wicket with my slower balls and try to keep the batsmen guessing. We are World Champions, how good. Incredibly special (to have Stokes). He is someone I look up to and always turns up when the team needs him, people question him but there’s no questioning him, he’s the man.

He concluded, “To be honest, I am little bit lost for words, it has been a great tournament. First time for me in a World Cup and we won it. Amazing crowd. I wanted to be adaptable coming into the tournament. I haven’t bowled much at the death before and that is one area I want to keep improving. I want to improve my batting though it is tough to get to bat in this line-up. How good is it to be a World Champ.”