Pakistan Embarrass Holders India To Win ICC Champions Trophy

Pakistan is an unpredictable and talented side that can beat just about any side on their day. Arch-rivals India were the defending champions and favorites to win the ICC Champions Trophy at the Oval but the Pakistani’s came out firing on all cylinders to pull off a massive upset much to the delight of their fans and win their first major ICC event in a long time.

Pakistan Capitalizes On India’s Errors

Credit must be given to coach Mickey Arthur who has been under a lot of pressure during this tournament. Arthur and captain Sarfraz Ahmed made the Indians pay heavily for their mistakes. The first one was Indian captain Virat Kohli winning the toss and asking Pakistan to bat. India chase well but in a final, the pressure was always going to be on the side batting second, especially if there was a big score on the board.

The unorthodox Fakhar Zaman played a blinder hitting 114 of just 106 balls to put Pakistan in a commanding position. He was well supported by Azhar Ali and Mohammad Hafeez who both hit half centuries to help Pakistan post a massive total of 338. The body language of the Indians showed that they felt the game was slipping away and the Pakistan team came out in a positive and aggressive mindset which was evident from the way strike bowler M Amir bowled.

NDTV

Three Crucial Wickets

Amir struck thrice in quick succession to remove in-form openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. He also had Kohli dropped by A Ali in first slip and he was clearly upset. However, he got Kohli the very next ball and those three key wickets broke the back of the Indian batting line-up and Pakistan never looked back.

In a statement, Arthur said

It’s been an up and down ride for us, but just so proud of the boys. We dusted ourselves off after that India defeat at Edgbaston and came back superbly, the whole group kept believing and that’s the most important thing

Pakistan had never beaten India in an ICC Champions Trophy do-or-die match till date but chose the right occasion to not only beat India but to do it in style. The win also ensured that Pakistan no longer have to worry about qualifying for the ICC World Cup in 2019 as they now will have a direct entry.