English captain Jos Buttler won the toss and sent Pakistan in to bat at the MCG with the final of the Twenty20 World Cup beginning on time in Melbourne.
While the sky is overcast above the MCG, the heavy rain that was predicted to cause havoc during Sunday’s final is yet to materialize.
Pakistan fans outnumbered their English counterparts outside the Melbourne ground in the hours leading into a game that ends the month-long tournament in Australia.
The atmosphere inside the MCG was electric during the pre-final entertainment and while short of the ground’s 100,000 capacity, a strong crowd is in attendance, predominantly dressed in the green of Pakistan.
England announced an unchanged team from the side that defeated India in convincing fashion on Thursday night at Adelaide Oval, opting against recalling fast bowler Mark Wood.
After winning the toss, Buttler said there was “good nerves and good energy around the team and the stadium”.
“Both teams are in red-hot form. It looks (like) a good wicket, but there is a bit of weather around, which is why we bowled first,” he said.
His Pakistan counterpart Babar Azam said the plan was to score quickly early in their innings in a bid to place the English bowling attack under pressure.
Pakistan progressed to the final after defeating New Zealand in Sydney on Wednesday night.
Lineups:
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Muhammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah.
England: Jos Buttler (captain), Alex Hales, Philip Salt, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid.
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