The 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia has concluded with England’s victory. The final match scheduled at the Melbourne Cricket Ground between England and Pakistan witnessed a fairly interesting match. At the end of it all, the young pacer, Sam Curran emerged as the Player of the Match. Curran tried to be subtle about it crediting Ben Stokes for the win. However, the sole title was not it as later Sam Curran was awarded the Player of the Tournament title as well.
Having missed the 2021 World Cup action due to an injury, Sam Curran gave it his all this time. Consequently, Curran shined as one of the most dangerous bowlers in the tournament. Meanwhile, skipper Jos Buttler found his perfect wicket-taking option in Curran. Despite bowling only in crucial moments like the powerplay and the death overs, Curran scalped wickets easily tricking the batters. As a result, Curran finished the campaign as the second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament, just behind Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga.
Also Read: England: The new World Champions- From 2015 to 2022, What Changed? Skipper Jos Buttler Explains
All That Lead to Sam Curran Winning the “Player of the Tournament” Title
In the final match, Curran along with Adil Rashid stunned the Pakistani batting line-up and ultimately limited them to a meager 137. Consequently, Curran received the Player of the Match award for his impressive bowling figure of 3/12 in the 4-over spell. His last performance also brought his previous consistently good spells in the tournament in limelight.
Sam Curran scalped 13 wickets in total in the tournament. His tournament average sat at 11.38 delivered at an incredible economy of 6.52. Moreover, Sam Curran also delivered the best bowling spell of the tournament, where he picked 5 wickets giving just 10 runs against Afghanistan. His impressive figures mixed with the viewer’s votes ultimately made him the “Player of the Tournament.” Talking about his bowling spells, Curran explained, “The way I bowl, I go into the wicket with my slower balls and keep the batsmen guessing.”
Sam Curran emerged atop the list of 9 players that were nominated for the title. The nominations included his teammates Jos Buttler, and Alex Hales among the top performers of other teams. Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Sikandar Raza, and Wanindu Hasaranga also made it into the nominations for the title. However, Curran outshined them all to scalp the victory. Meanwhile, Rashid and Curran’s brilliance in the first innings added with the second innings domination by Ben Stokes landed England the T20 World Champions title.
