On this day, back in 2017, the Pakistan cricket team were the winners of the Champions Trophy as they went on to completely outclass the Virat Kohli-led Team India in the final game, which was played on June 18 at the Oval in London. Notably, the Men in Blue have thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan in the group-stage game but suffered a heavy defeat in the final game. This was one of the most memorable battles featuring two Asian giants in the major tournaments.
Speaking about the game here, it was Indian captain Virat Kohli who won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat first in the game. Notably, after being sent to bat first, the Green Army had the best start as Azhar Ali made 59 runs from 71 balls, featuring six fours and one six, and stitched the stand with Fakhar Zaman, who was the star of the final game. The opening batter hammered a stunning hundred as he made 114 runs from 106 balls, featuring 12 fours and three sixes, to help his side stand at the dominant spot at the start of the game.
Following him, the swashbuckling batter Babar Azam also made 46 runs from 52 balls from four boundaries. Star all-rounder Shoaib Malik made 12 runs, however, Mohammed Hafeez made 57 runs from 37 balls, featuring four fours and three sixes, and Imad Wasim made an unbeaten 25 runs that helped them post a massive total of 338/4 against a tough Indian side. Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, and Kedar Jadhav have one scalp to their names in the epic final showdown.
Meanwhile, during the chase, Team India got off to a horrendous start as Rohit Sharma departed on a golden duck while left-handed batter Shikhar Dhawan could only get 21 runs. Skipper Virat Kohli was sent back to the pavilion for 5 runs, while all-rounder Yuvraj Singh got 22 runs. Following them, wicketkeeper batter MS Dhoni was able to score four runs, while Kedar Jadhav made nine runs. However, Hardik Pandya tried extremely hard to keep India in the dominating spot after scoring 76 runs from 43 balls, featuring four boundaries and six sixes, but he lost his wicket, and the side was bundled out for 158 runs, guiding arch-rivals Pakistan to get the win by 180 runs.
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