Pakistan ranked No. 8 in the ODI rankings, beat the pulp out of arch rivals and No. 2 ranked India at the KIA Oval, London to lift the Champions Trophy for the first time ever in their history.
The Men in Green, who were no less than cornered Tigers produced a whirlwind performance by posting 338/4 after being put to bat first and later bundling out India for a mere 158 to pocket a highly memorable, and by all means a majestic, 180 runs win.
What to expect when India plays Pakistan, that too, in the finals of an ICC tournament?
The last time it happened was a decade ago when the MS Dhoni-led side met triumphed over Misbah ul Haq’s men in a dramatic fashion. It was a cracker of a contest that swung from one side to another. India led the proceedings at one moment while Pakistan, carried by Misbah, tried to grab opportunities on the other moment. Eventually, India, with a hearty dose of luck and some sheer brilliance in the field, ended up with the champions tag as Pakistan cursed its fate.
A dose of luck and sheer brilliance on the field – that’s what was required for India on that occasion, and today Pakistan enjoyed it the most.
The scenes unfolded in a role reversal pattern from the events that took place a decade ago. Only this time, the men with the possession of the champions tag were from Pakistan.
They played as a matchless unit today and offered no even an inch to India, outclassing them in all three departments, by a huge margin.
As it has always been said of Pakistan on their day they can beat any side. And, today was simply their day. Period.
Starting with Fakhar Zaman’s maiden ODI century that set the platform for the huge 300 plus total to Mohammad Amir’s fiery opening spell that broke the back of the Indian batting order, everything fell in line for the Sarfraz Ahmed led side.
Fakhar Zaman, the 27-year-old gem, along with Azhar Ali gave a nervy yet solid start to the proceedings after being put to bat first by Virat Kohli.
India has a brief moment of excitement and optimism when Bhuvneshwar Kumar started off the game with a maiden. Jasprit Bumrah followed it up with a three-run over to give an indication that the Indians were fully prepared for the Pakistanis. Unfortunately, the proved to be a myth.
Fortune favoured both the openers and they survived the first six overs before throwing away the Indian bowling line up like a kitchen sink. The pair occupied the middle with grand authority and were supported by the reckless bowling show from Bumrah who sprinkled his entire opening spell with wide deliveries.
To make things worse, in the 4th over, he conceded a no – ball, which caught a nick off Fakhar’s bat and went into the safe gloves of MS Dhoni. Umpire Marais Erasmus had some reservation and went upstairs to check the front only to find out his doubt to be real as Bumrah clearly overstepped. This was the single biggest mistake committed by India that caused them the final.
The left-hander converted that dash of luck into a knock of 114 from just 106 balls. Azhar Ali, on the other end, offered maximum support and ended up with 59 from 71 deliveries. Together the duo added 128 for the opening wicket.
Later the middle order cruised ahead. Babar Azam (46 from 52 balls), Mohammad Hafeez (57 from 37 balls) and Imad Wasim (25 from 21 balls) steered Pakistan to a mighty total on the board.
India, despite the poor bowling performance, had little reason to worry (initially, for the records). The supreme trio of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli looked lie an unstoppable force a few days ago in the semifinals. For them, it was all about getting settled in the middle and accelerate the inning towards the victory like the way they have been doing for some time now.
However, the thing wasn’t supposed to be that easy as left arm maverick Mohammad Amir steamed in like an angry bull, with the face that had vengeance filled in it and ran through the top order to leave India highly nervous.
First Rohit Sharma, then Virat Kohli and later Shikhar Dhawan. The threat of the superstar trio was chucked away like a piece of paper tossed in the bin. There was utmost dominance on display from 24 years old. The victory path was clear and India began crumbling steadily as Pakistan sniffed victory waiting not far away.
The only little twist to the tale was effected by Hardik Pandya, who delayed the winning moment for Pakistan and saved India’s face from a greater embarrassment with the help of his 76 runs knock which came off just 43 balls. The flickering hopes were kept alive the young male before he was run out in the 27th over. Pakistan pulled the curtains on the match quickly thereafter as India conceded its biggest loss ever in Champions Trophy history.
Brief Scores:
Pakistan: 338/4 (Fakhar Zaman Kedar Jadhav 1/27)
India: 158 all out (Hardik Pandya 76; Mohammad Amir 3/16)
Man of the Match: Fakhar Zaman
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The video of Pakistani fans rushing onto the field after their side hammered India by 180 runs to lift the ICC Champions Trophy for the first time was taken by OPPO f3 selfie expert camera. Also, a senior member of Sportzwiki was also present on the ground to cover the live match.