This Day That Year: Pakistan beat India to win the 2017 Champions Trophy title
Thanks to all-round performance, Pakistan stunned the favorites
India in the finals of the 2017 edition of Champions Trophy played at
Kennington Oval, London on 18th June.
Indian captain Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to field
first. Fakhar Zaman survived a chance as Jasprit Bumrah bowled a no-ball which
proved very costly. Zaman took advantage of the no-ball and put the Indian
bowlers under pressure. Azhar Ali also looked edgy with stroke play. At the end
of 10 overs, Pakistan openers scored 56 for 0.
Pakistani openers played with confidence taking the attack
to Indian bowlers. Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman kept the scoreboard ticking with
singles and hitting boundaries. The experienced Azhar completed his fifty off
61 balls while the left-handed Fakhar also reached his half-century off 61
balls. The Indian team got the breakthrough dismissing Azhar Ali via a run-out
for 59. Ali and Fakhar added 128 runs in 23 overs.
Fakhar was severe against Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin
putting the Indian bowlers under pressure. Coming at number 3, Babar Azam
consolidated Pakistan’s position with confident strokes. The left-handed Zaman smacked
a superb century off 92 balls. Hardik Pandya finally dismissed the centurion
Fakhar for 114. Zaman and Babar added 72 runs for the 2nd wicket. Shoaib
Malik struggled to score runs but Babar played with confidence. Bhuvneshwar
Kumar dismissed Malik for 12. Malik and Babar added 47 runs for the 3rd
wicket.
India came back into the match by picking the wicket of
Babar Azam. Mohammad Hafeez showed his intent right from word go and put the Indian
bowlers under pressure. Hafeez and Imad Wasim added unbeaten 71 runs for the 5th
wicket to help Pakistan post a massive total of 338 for 4 in 50 overs. Hafeez
completed his fifty off just 34 balls and remained not out on 57.
Chasing 339 runs to win, it was a dreadful start for the
Indian team as Mohammad Aamir broke the backbone getting wickets of Rohit
Sharma and Virat Kohli. The Southpaw Shikhar Dhawan played with confidence
along with Yuvraj Singh. Aamir got his 3rd wicket by getting the
wicket of Dhawan for 21. Dhawan and Yuvraj added 27 runs for the 3rd
wicket. At the end of 10 overs, India was in big trouble at 47 for 3.
Shahdab Khan and Hasan Ali left India in tatters at 72 for
6. Hardik Pandya came to the crease and took the attack to Pakistani spinners especially
Shahbad Khan with power-hitting entertaining the crowd. On the other hand, Ravindra
Jadeja gave full support to him. Hardik gave something to cheer as completed
his fifty off just 32 balls. The hard-hitting batsman continued making an
impact with his brutal hitting. With a ray of hope, a miscommunication ended
Hardik Pandya’s run-out for a brilliant 76 off 43 balls with 4 fours and 6
sixes. Hardik Pandya and Jadeja added 80 runs for the 7th wicket. Pakistan bowled out India for a paltry total of 158 to win the match by
180 runs.
After losing badly to India in Group Stage, Pakistan with
luck and dominating performance in the knockout stage won their maiden Champions
Trophy title.
For his match-winning 114, Fakhar Zaman was named the man of
the match. Hasan Ali was awarded the Golden Ball award picking 13 wickets in
the tournament. On the other hand, Shikhar Dhawan was given the Golden Bat award
for scoring 338 runs from 5 matches ( 5 innings).
Pakistan 338 for 4 in 50 overs (Fakhar Zaman 114, Azhar Ali 59, Mohammad Hafeez 57*, Hardik Pandya 1/53) beat India 158 in 30.3 overs (Hardik Pandya 76, Mohammad Aamir 3/16, Hasan Ali 3/19) by 180 runs.
 |
| Pakistan stun India to lift the 2017 CT title on 18th June |
Comments