Pakistan will take on India in a much-awaited and anticipated ICC Champions Trophy final on Sunday, with the Champions Trophy head-head between the two all square at 2-2. Pakistan will not be short of motivation as it seeks to bag its first ever CT and it can't get a better opponent to make history. Click right to relive Pakistan's road to the final.
The Indian batsmen and bowlers put their arch-rivals to the sword in this opening group B match between both the sides. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh smashed fifties to score a mammoth 319. Rain arrived to reduce the target on two occasions, but it turned out to be a characteristic Pakistani batting display one has come to witness in recent times. Indian bowlers kept chipping away with wickets at regular intervals to bowl them out for a paltry 164. Only Azhar Ali managed any kind of resistance with a score of 50 in the 124-run defeat.
A result which cricket needed. A result which sparked a series of upsets the tournament desperately needed after the top sides looked to brush through the weaker sides. A match which saw AB de Villiers get dismissed for a first-ball duck, a rare occurrence in cricket. Hasan Ali was the wrecker in chief with three key wickets, with Junaid Khan and Imad Wasim chipping in with two apiece. Pakistan were on course for the 220 target or a Pakistani collapse but the rain intervened to hand Pakistan a life-line in the tournament.
In a virtual quarterfinal, Pakistan prevailed in the battle between the two underdogs of Group B to reach the semifinals. The Pakistani pacers got stuck into the Sri Lankan batsmen tottering before the tail wagged to add a crucial 69 runs to help reach 236. Fakhar Zaman scored a brisk 50 before a familiar collapse left them hanging on at 7-162. But skipper Sarfraz Ahmed and pacer Mohammed Amir, stitched together a 75-run stand to take Pakistan through ala Coutrney Browne and Ian Bradshaw from the 2004 edition of the tournament.
Pakistan stunned all comers by dumping the tournament favourite and host England out with a eight-wicket win in the first semifinal. The wily pacers backed up by smart fielding, enabled the sub-continent side to stifle the power-hitting England batsmen. Any Pakistani nerves among the pessimistic of Pakistani fans were calmed with Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman putting on a 100-run first wicket partnership, which resulted in a smooth chase. Fast bowler Hasan Ali claimed the Man-of-the-match award for his three crucial wickets up top.
COMMents
Comments
SHARE