Australia Skipper Steve Smith Congratulates Pakistan
Jun 19, 2017 at 5:27 PM
Australian skipper Steve Smith has extended his good wishes to the Pakistan Cricket Team after their spectacular win over India in the Champions Trophy Final 2017 at the KIA Oval, London.
Smith looked mighty impressed with the outing from Men in Green and tweeted:
Congratulations Pakistan. Exceptional performance in the final today
Congratulations Pakistan. Exceptional performance in the final today. #CT17
— Steve Smith (@stevesmith49) June 18, 2017
Pakistan outclassed India by 180 runs, the heaviest loss for a team in final in the history of the tournament, clinch their maiden Champions Trophy title. Batting first Pakistan posted 338/4 riding in the century from Fakhar Zaman and solid knocks from Azhar Ali and Mohammad Hafeez.
India, in response, were bundled out for just 158 runs. Barring Hardik Pandya (76 from 43 balls), no one could occupy the crease. Mohammad Amir started the victory proceedings with the wickets of the top three of the Indian batting order – Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli.
Steve Smith and his men had a dismal time in England. Bogged by unfavourable weather, Australia was unable to clinch the crucial win against England in their final league game which saw them get ousted from the tournament.
They are now set to tour West Indies and later prepare for the highly intriguing Ashes series. However, both the tours are in jeopardy as the players are now struggling with the pay dispute.
The Australia Cricket Association and the Cricket Australia have been at loggerheads since the last few months and the controversy surrounding it doesn’t seem to be ending despite the June 30 deadline standing just a couple of weeks away.
While skipper Steve Smith has limited himself from making any sweeping statements, vice-captain David Warner has been quite outspoken about the matter, stating a possibility of even a Ashes boycott. The pay dispute has the players of all ranks united at the moment and they have clearly indicated that they won’t be backing out until a satisfying conclusion is agreed upon by both the ACA and the CA.