Pakistan and England will face each other in the winner-takes-all World Cup 2022 final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday. Here are the five things Pakistan fans must know ahead of the match:

1- Melbourne virgins

Both England and Pakistan have not won a T20I at the famed MCG — a stat that holds true not just for this World Cup but overall too. Pakistan’s only fixture in Melbourne in the ongoing tournament was against India, which they lost but only by a slim margin.

England was slated to play two games at the MCG, but both were affected by rain and neither was completed. They were stunned in the first fixture by Ireland, thanks to the DLS method, while their clash with Australia was washed out in its entirety.

Their other three — in 2011, 2015 and 2018 — T20I outings at the MCG also ended in defeats, with their highest score across all those matches being a mere 143. Thus, if Pakistan is yet to get off the mark at this venue, England’s duck is older and uglier. In fact, one would have expected them to have a much better record considering they’re frequent flyers to Australia due to their rivalry with the hosts.

A clear memory from Pakistan’s game against India at the MCG was the early movement Indian seamers got. It remains to be seen if the final will be played on the same strip or a different one. If it’s the latter, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan should be watchful early on.

2- Pakistan’s bowling vs England’s batting

It is no secret that the final will be a battle between Pakistan’s bowlers and England’s batters. Shaheen Shah Afridi is clearly the spearhead of Pakistan’s bowling unit but others have been very impressive too. Shadab Khan has just as many wickets (10) as Shaheen and he has also routinely choked the flow of runs in the difficult middle overs.

Naseem Shah has been a bit lacking in the wickets department — just three in this World Cup so far — but that is not to say that he cannot be disciplined and menacing. Haris Rauf has been bowling with a ferocious pace whereas Mohammad Wasim has been such a refreshing addition to the line-up that he may have permanently ended Asif Ali’s international career. Add to it Mohammad Nawaz’s underrated left-arm spin and the seventh option of Iftikhar “Chacha” Ahmed’s off-spin which gives Pakistan arguably the best and certainly the most varied bowling attack in the world.

England’s main strength is their batting of course. Their top two, as India would attest, are ridiculously ruthless. But even if you get rid of those two for zero (fantasy talk), there are seven more batters behind them. Just consider this: their number nine batter Chris Woakes is an allrounder whose T20I average of 25.20 is better than most of Pakistan’s middle order’s average, and whose strike rate of 146.51 is better than all of Pakistan’s batters barring Mohammad Haris, who has only played four matches. There is plenty of firepower between the top two and number nine, although it’s yet to catch fire this World Cup.

Hyping up England’s batting does not mean that their bowlers are slouches, if not just as good. Who can forget Mark Wood and his crazy arm? During England’s seven-match series in Pakistan, he played twice and picked up three wickets in both of those matches. Not only that, he got Babar out both times. Sam Curran, meanwhile, has this World Cup’s only five-for.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s batters, after a difficult start to the tournament, have fared better lately. Babar and Rizwan both got runs in the semis, while Mohammad Haris has been a spark plug at one-down. The rest are rest. Nothing needs to be explained about them.

In the final, whichever side’s weaker aspect rises to the occasion and matches the production of their strength would most likely win.

3- Divine injure-vention?

Let’s be honest. Pakistan has got divine favours throughout the tournament and there could be another two gifts coming their way.

Wood, whose scary pace can and has made Pakistan batters uncomfortable, has a hip injury. He did take part in recent training sessions but it remains to be seen if England would take a chance on a half-fit pacer in such an important game.

Dawid Malan, a former top-ranked ICC T20I batter, also has a problem and there are question marks on his participation as well.

England generally has had a “next man up” policy and their talent runs so deep that anyone’s absence slows them down much slower than it does to others. Still, it would give a psychological edge to Pakistan if the pair sits out this one. Of course, champion sides with a champion mindset want to beat others at their best but this is the World Cup final. All the lessons in morality and fair play can take a back seat for a day.

4- Shaheen’s the key

Forget Babar and Rizwan, forget Shadab, forget everyone else. The key to Pakistan’s potential win will likely be Shaheen Shah Afridi.

The left-arm pacer is arguably the finest new ball bowler in the world today. He will be up against the two-headed monster of Buttler and Hales, who have collectively scored more than 400 runs so far in the tournament. Shaheen usually does find early breakthroughs. If he manages to do that and Pakistan see the backs of Buttler and Hales without copping significant damage, the rest of their job — at least on paper and in theory — should be significantly easier.

We say that because, after Buttler and Hales, England’s batting production plummets. Take those two out of the equation, and England’s next biggest contributor is Ben Stokes, whose total production for the tournament is a mere 58 runs across four innings of five matches.

This is a severely underused and underperforming middle to the lower order, which has not justified the talent it boasts. In a way, England has a bit of a Pakistan problem. They also have their Babar and Rizwan up top, but those following them are off their game. Thus, Shaheen’s early salvos could be potentially match and tournament-deciding.

5- Fight is all we want

The route Pakistan have taken to get to the final seems that it almost feels like a bonus run. The anguish, the pain, and all such emotions are already out of their fans’ system. If they win, it’s ecstasy. If they lose it is still a disappointment but not a world-ending development. We’ll sulk for half a Sunday before Monday hits us in the face and it’s life as usual.

However, if the team were to go down without even a fight like in 1999, or if they surrender from a winning position a la Asia Cup 2022, then it would sting like an itch.

At this point, all we want is a good, well-fought game of cricket. Beyond that point, we’ll take whatever happens.

Header image: Pakistan and England captains Babar Azam and Jos Buttler pose with the T20 World Cup 2022 trophy. — ICC Twitter