Pakistan On Top
of The World
Pakistan comprehensively defeated arch rivals India by 180
runs in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Kia Oval on Sunday.
it was a glorious summer's day at the Kia Oval where thousands of Indian and Pakistani supporters where gathered to anticipate a enthralling contest between two great cricketing nations.
These two sides had previously met in the group stages at Edgbaston where India won by a whopping 124 runs in a rain effected game. The Pakistanis arrived at the KIA Oval looking to seek revenge from this defeat by their bitter rivals.
it was a glorious summer's day at the Kia Oval where thousands of Indian and Pakistani supporters where gathered to anticipate a enthralling contest between two great cricketing nations.
These two sides had previously met in the group stages at Edgbaston where India won by a whopping 124 runs in a rain effected game. The Pakistanis arrived at the KIA Oval looking to seek revenge from this defeat by their bitter rivals.
When India captain Virat Kohli put the Pakistanis into to
bat, India were hoping for an early breakthrough. They thought they had one
when Fakhar Zaman nicked a full ball through to MS Dhoni when he was just on 3. However, the replay showed that Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah had unfortunately
overstepped the bowling crease which resulted in a no ball.
Pakistan took advantage of the costly no ball by Bumrah by
forming an opening partnership of 128 with Zaman and his fellow opener Azhar
Ali.
Ali was then run out by Jasprit Bumrah following a mix up
with Zaman, But that did not ruin the left hander’s day as Zaman went on to
score a brilliant 114 runs from 142 balls along with some classy little cameos
from Babar Azam who scored 46 of 84 and Mohammed Hafeez who scored 57 of 47.
It was a hot and difficult day in the field for the Indians
who lacked the energy and fight throughout the match. When they went out
to bat, left arm Pakistan seamer Mohammed Amir ripped through India’s top
order removing Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and most importantly the skipper Kohli.
This was a huge blow for the Indians as these three batsmen had been in supreme form throughout most the tournament and were scoring the bulk of India's runs throughout the whole tournament.
This was a huge blow for the Indians as these three batsmen had been in supreme form throughout most the tournament and were scoring the bulk of India's runs throughout the whole tournament.
Once those three were dismissed Pakistan were right on top.
Shadab Khan and Hasan Ali then came to the party and got rid of the highly
experienced pair of Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Once these two were dismissed,
you could say that this was probably the end for India.
Hardik Pandya tried is absolute best to get India back into
the game. The hard, hitting all-rounder scored a blistering 76 runs of 46
balls, but a mix up between himself and Ravindra Jadeja proved to be his downfall
as he ended up running himself out.
This was the final nail in the coffin for India as Hasan Ali
and Junaid Khan knocked over India’s tail to claim Pakistan’s first major 50-over
trophy since the 1992 World Cup.
Hassan Ali richly deserves to be the man of the tournament. I
particularly liked his passion and enjoyment of the game and when you have
that sort of a player in your team, it really motivates the rest of your
players to perform well for your team.
India should not be disheartened by this defeat. Yes, it’s
painful, but Virat Kohli and his men have had a pretty good tournament. What’s
good to see is they are mixing experience with youth. I admire the emergence of
fast bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya. He is a good addition to this Young Indian side and will be
a huge asset for India in the future, especially on overseas tours to England
and Australia etc.
As for Pakistan, it’s upwards and onwards. At the start of
the tournament, they were ranked no:8 in the world and no one expected them to
reach the semis let alone the final. But boy have they proved the critics wrong.
Safraz Ahmed has been excellent as captain through the majority of this tournament. The way he had marshalled his
bowlers and looked to take wickets rather than containing runs was exceptional. There’s a
saying in sport where 'the best way to defend is to attack'. That is what
Sarfraz’s team have done brilliantly throughout this tournament.
These two teams were the best two teams of the tournament, but Pakistan were far the better team on the day. You could see that they wanted it more. It’s not a case of India not trying, it’s just that they were outplayed by a magnificent Pakistani team.
It will be fascinating to see how this match will have an impact on both teams, especially in the future.
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