• Pakistan will be the favourite for the match based on player quality alone
• England will win because of the size of the field
• Babar Azam is counting on the quality of his fast bowlers

The winner of tomorrow’s T20 World Cup final between Pakistan and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground has been predicted by legendary players Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.

According to former West Indies batting champion Lara, Pakistan will be the favourite for the match based on player quality alone.

“I think Pakistan has the better team in terms of individual players. England has played very well-structured cricket but I would like to see the trophy stay in Asia,” Lara said

India’s Tendulkar, meanwhile, predicts that England will win because of the size of the field.

“I think looking at the ground dimensions, it’s got to be England. I differ a little bit. yes, the momentum is with Pakistan. they are kind of peaking at the right time but maybe England might get them to play square of the wicket in Melbourne, where the boundaries are longer. The straighter boundaries are short,” said Tendulkar.

“Each ground’s dimension is different. In Adelaide you have short square boundaries and reasonably longer straight boundaries. So I have this feeling that upfront the new ball they will get to swing and later on, they will go short of length forcing them to play square of the ground,” he added.

Jos Buttler’s England are the small underdogs against Pakistan, but Men in Green captain Babar Azam is counting on the quality of his fast bowlers to give them the upper hand, especially during the six-over powerplay.

“England is a competitive team, their [10-wicket] win to reach the finals against India was a proof of that,” he said on Saturday in a press conference.

“Our strategy is to stick to our plan and use our pace attack as our strength to win the finals.

“Utilizing the powerplay to grab as many wickets will be essential for the match.”

The 2009 champions lost in dramatic fashion to India and Zimbabwe to begin their tournament, but they recovered to advance to the Melbourne Cricket Ground final against England on Sunday.

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