As it happened - England vs Pakistan, Men's T20 World Cup 2022, final

Stokes realised he had to target Iftikhar, and did. His first ball from the offspinner landed just short of Babar Azam at long-off, but his second and third disappear for boundaries: the first slapped through cover, the second launched over Babar's head. England are closing in...

Another huge moment. Shaheen pulls out of his run-up, then hobbles in and bowls a wide yorker at 114kph that Moeen misses. He limps off the field, and Iftikhar Ahmed will complete his over. Babar Azam will have to find another over from either Iftikhar or Nawaz after this one, too.

Like Rauf earlier, Shaheen isn't off the field for too long. He runs back on, seemingly moving freely. Great news for Pakistan supporters.

Ben Stokes has made 3 off 9 since the drinks break, and just can't seem to get going at all. He's in the England set-up specifically for this kind of situation, to win crunch games with the pressure on, but will need to get a move on soon.

Shaheen Afridi is struggling after taking that catch. He appeared to jar his right knee while sliding to complete it - which was, of course, the knee that he injured earlier this year, causing him to miss several bilateral series at the Asia Cup. He's back on his feet but moving gingerly... Pakistan will desperately hope he is fit to bowl.

Brook was brilliant in Pakistan in September but has really struggled badly since arriving in Australia, and couldn't really get going tonight. He holes out to Shaheen Afridi at wide long-off, and ends the World Cup with 58 runs off 56 balls across his five innings.

Haris Rauf left the field slightly gingerly after his second over and walked down the tunnel, flanked by Pakistan's medical staff, but he's back on the field now. "It was just a little bit of tightness in his right leg," Ian Bishop reports from pitch-side.

He's soon back in the thick of it, diving at full stretch and brilliantly flicking the ball back to save a run after Brook pulled Naseem over midwicket.

Harry Brook and Ben Stokes are doing a solid rebuilding job for England - the sort they can afford with such a low total to chase. They have done a good job of rotating strike with only six dots in the four overs immediately after the powerplay, and Stokes has managed a couple of boundaries too: one an under-edged reverse-sweep, the other a punch through extra cover when Wasim overpitched.

10 overs bowled, which confirms that either England or Pakistan will lift the trophy tonight and the reserve day won't be required.

Huge, huge moment in the final and the tournament. Pakistan's quicks have adjusted brilliantly after starting too full, dragging their lengths back and letting the combination of their pace and movement do the rest. Rauf picks up where Naseem left off, hitting a hard length and inducing a thick outside edge through to Rizwan as Buttler pokes at it with hard hands. Pakistan are up and about, and England are wobbling!

A remarkable over from Naseem Shah - which somehow costs 11 runs. He beats Buttler five times in the over, hitting a perfect length and nipping the ball away late past his outside edge - but one ball flies down the leg side for five wides, and Buttler has the calmness and presence of mind to scoop another for six. Box office!

Phil Salt, in his first game of the tournament, played with plenty of intent but struggled for timing. Smart captaincy by Babar Azam to help dismiss him, but not a great shot: slip moved to short midwicket, with Rauf not really bowling for a nick-off, and Salt spliced a pull straight to the man in close

Jos Buttler is in absolutely supreme touch at the moment, and has faced to 20 off his first 10 balls. Pakistan's new-ball bowlers, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, have bowled full, actively searching for wickets to try and defend an under-par total, but Buttler has pinged three early boundaries - each of them off full balls.

A huge moment. The MCG was deathly quiet for most of Shaheen Shah Afridi's first over but it roars into life as Shaheen gets a full ball to shape back into Hales. It skews off his back pad and rips out his middle stump, and England's opening partnership - which put on 81, 75 and 170 in their last three games - manages only 7.

Shiva Jayaraman: How good was that over from Adil Rashid? A maiden and the wicket of the best batter in the opposition to play the conditions on offer at the MCG. That wicket of Babar Azam arrested the momentum that Pakistan’s third-wicket partnership – biggest and the fastest partnership of their innings - was beginning to gather.

In men's T20Is against full-member teams, only five maidens had been bowled by spinners when the previous over has gone for 15 or more runs (where data is available). Only two of those, before Rashid’s, had come in the first innings when teams are looking up to set a total. What an over to bowl in a World Cup final!

Pakistan can only post 137 after being asked to bat first at the MCG - which, coincidentally, is the lowest score successfully defended in a men's T20 World Cup final, by West Indies against Sri Lanka in 2012.

England were brilliant in the second half of that innings in particular, bowling defensively and asking Pakistan's batters to take them on. They did, but consistently picked out fielders. Two stars for England with the ball: Adil Rashid and Sam Curran.

Pakistan are disintegrating! Shadab miscues Jordan to mid-off and Curran picks up a third, having Nawaz caught at deep midwicket. In their bid to attack and get something above par, Pakistan risk falling short of even 140.

Shadab Khan's arrival added some impetus to Pakistan's innings - as it so often does - and he had put on 36 off 25 balls for the fifth wicket with Shan Masood. But Sam Curran's return at the death has brought him yet another wicket, his 12th of the tournament.

That's a triumph for England's planning, and in particular their decision to place their outfielders 10-15 yards in off the boundary: Masood miscued a shovel into the leg side and whipped it straight down Livingstone's throat at deep midwicket.

Rashid has bowled slower tonight than in any other game in this tournament and Pakistan have struggled to get him away: just a single boundary across his four overs, and 10 dot balls.

Huge moment! Rashid's head-to-head against Babar always felt like a big match-up tonight, as Babar has struggled to pick his googly in the past, and that's exactly how it has panned out: he miscues one straight back to him, and Rashid claims the big fish.

Superb intent from Shan Masood. England needed to sneak in two overs between their 'fifth' bowler - the combination of Stokes and Livingstone - in the final 10, and Masood is aware of it: he takes on Livingstone, crashing him down the ground for four and then heaving him for six. Livingstone's over costs 16, giving Jos Buttler a bit of a headache.

Pakistan have often struggled to find the right tempo when batting first in T20Is and today looks no different. They're 68 for 2 at the halfway stage, with Shan Masood starting steadily at No. 4 alongside Babar Azam. The vast outfield at the MCG doesn't necessarily lend itself to huge totals, but it's hard to picture Pakistan winning without adding at least 80 runs in the second half of their innings.

England's outfielders are still working out exactly where to stand and it's a constant battle at the MCG: on the rope to save four, or 10 yards in to stop the second run?

Chris Woakes has bowled each of the first three overs from the Shane Warne Stand End and has bowled a number of slower balls: according to ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball data, he has bowled 8 of them, compared to 10 pace-on deliveries. The thinking might be that this is a two-paced pitch, but the plan hasn't worked: his 8 slowies have cost 15 runs, while the 10 pace-on balls cost only 11.

Alex Malcolm, our resident MCG expert, has a simple message for England's seamers: pace on, stand the seam up. "Pace off is usually key at the 'G when there's no grass but not when there's this much coverage," he tells me. "Slower balls just slide on and ask to be monstered."

Mohammad Rizwan gets Pakistan going with a perfect slog-sweep for six over deep backward square leg, and in Sam Curran's next over he dives to make his ground, prompting a delay after his helmet skewed into his face.

As soon as he got up, he was dismissed, chopping Sam Curran onto the base of his own leg stump. Curran has been brilliant for England in this tournament, and gets a huge wicket early on.

England hadn't bowled a no-ball all tournament but Ben Stokes kicks off the final by over-stepping, then sends the free hit down the leg side at 65mph/105kph. The first over ends up costing eight runs - but not before Mohammad Rizwan comes close to running himself out, taking on Chris Jordan at mid-off whose throw is wide. Nerves on both sides.

The teams belt out their respective anthems, and it's almost time for the big one.

"There's a little bit of weather around," Buttler explains. England are unchanged, which means Jordan and Salt keep their places ahead of Wood and Malan. "We have good momentum with us," Babar says. "History repeats," he adds with a smile, asked about 1992. Same team for Pakistan too, as expected.

This T20 World Cup has been a great reminder of the importance of pitches and conditions in T20 cricket, with games playing out very differently at each venue. As discussed in our Tactics Board, the MCG poses a very different challenge for the teams compared to their semi-final venues, Sydney and Adelaide: how will they defend those short straight boundaries?

File this one under: Things We Thought We'd Never See

Alex Malcolm is one of ESPNcricinfo's men at the 'G and reports that Dawid Malan - who missed England's semi-final win against India with a groin strain - netted alongside Phil Salt very briefly before walking out to allow Alex Hales in.

Salt looks like the favourite to keep his place at this stage, but we'll find out more soon.