2017 ICC Champions Trophy: AB de Villiers Excited For India-Pakistan Final 1

With India setting up a mouth-watering clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy, it seems the cricket fans are not the only ones who are excited for the blockbuster match on Sunday (June 18), as South Africa skipper AB de Villiers has also expressed his excitement for the match.

One day after Pakistan thrashed hosts and pre-tournament favourites England by eight wickets to enter the final, India got the better of Bangladesh in the second semifinal on Thursday (June 15) to enter their second consecutive Champions Trophy final.

Both the teams have already met once in this tournament when the Men in Blue had thrashed Pakistan by a whopping margin of 124 runs. And although India will walk into the finals as the firm favourites, they cannot take Pakistan lightly who have hit the top gear since the thrashing they received in their opening game against the defending champions.

Both the teams have lost a game each in the tournament but have looked in a fine form otherwise. India had defeated Pakistan and South Africa in the group stage while Pakistan had registered impressive wins over Sri Lanka and South Africa. Both the teams also dominated their semifinal matches and so looking at the current form one cannot predict the clear favourite. And AB de Villiers is also in a similar predicament.

Congratulating both the teams for making it to the summit clash, the Protea star tweeted:

“Gonna be a great #ChampionsTrophy2017 final! Congrats to both Pakistan and India for making it through. Who will win?.” 

India thrash Bangladesh to storm into the final:

The defending champions blew away the Tigers by nine wickets to prove their strong title credentials. After inviting Bangladesh to bat first, India was off to a brilliant start with Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissing Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman. A 123-run stand between Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim laid the foundation for a good total but once the former was dismissed by Kedar Jadhav for 70, Bangladesh lost their track and managed to post 264 for seven.

In reply, the in-form duo of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan gave the Men in Blue another flying start by adding 87 runs before the former and Virat Kohli took India home by sharing an unbeaten partnership of 178 runs. Rohit scored an unbeaten 123 while Kohli missed his century by just four runs.