England beat Pakistan to win T20 World Cup, Ben Stokes hits stunning unbeaten half-century

England are T20 world champions after beating Pakistan by five wickets in the final.

England booked their spot in the Melbourne Cricket Ground showpiece after thrashing India by 10-wickets, with Jos Buttler and Alex Hales' unbroken opening stand seeing off Rohit Sharma's team.

And they swept aside Pakistan as Ben Stokes guided his side to an excellent victory in Australia with a stunning unbeaten half-century.

Pakistan had set England a modest total of 137, with Sam Curran taking three big wickets while Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan took two wickets.

Curran finished with stunning bowling figures of 3-12 from his four overs.

Ben Stokes in action during the T20 World Cup final. Image: Alamy

Chasing the score, Buttler continued where he left off - smashing 27 off 17 balls. Hales, on the other hand, made just one run before being bowled by Shaheen Afridi, who limped off injured in the 16th over.

Phil Salt and Harry Brook scored 10 and 20 respectively before losing their wickets.

Moeen Ali hit a crucial 19 runs in a brilliant partnership with Stokes, who ended 52 not out.

It's also redemption for Stokes, who bowled a nightmare over in the T20 World Cup final in 2016.

Speaking after the game, Stokes praise the bowling efforts of Curran and Rashid.

"In finals, especially chasing, you forget all the hard work before that," he told Sky Sports.

"I thought the way we bowled for our whole innings - Sam Curran and Adil Rashid - was what one won us the game.

"That was a tricky wicket, it was one you never felt you were in on and there was a bit of bounce. To restrict them to 137, the bowlers have to take a lot of credit for that."

England are the kings of white-ball cricket as they hold the ODI World Cup and the T20 World Cup.

It's their second T20 triumph following their success in West Indies in 2010 when they beat Australia by seven wickets.