OTD | Pakistan beat India to claim Champions Trophy 2017

Rarely do we witness Pakistan thrash India in a match that the Apex Cricket Council is in charge of. The narrative has always been incredibly biased. The majority of the time, India has outperformed its neighbours in high-stakes competitions, solidifying their position as a powerful force over time. But back in 2017, on this day, we saw something unexpected. Pakistan, under the direction of Sarfraz Ahmed, won the Champions Trophy, defeating Virat Kohli, India’s newly appointed captain, and his men in the high-stakes final.

Less surprisingly, India was considered the frontrunner to win the Champions Trophy because they had defeated Pakistan in the group-stage encounter. When Pakistan defeated England to get to the finals, India was the team everyone expected to win. But it was an entirely other tale!

After a blunder from Jasprit Bumrah, Pakistan, batting first, got off to a great start. Fakhar Zaman, the Pakistani opener, was dismissed by Bumrah for 3 runs, and the umpires then opted to investigate the front-foot no-ball. And to everyone’s surprise, it turned out to be a no-ball. The Indian speedster gave the southpaw a lifeline, and the southpaw profited from it by scoring 111 more runs. He left when he had accumulated 114 runs, with the damage done.

Hardik Pandya’s 76 off 43, while chasing 339, went in vain  

Experienced middle-order batter Mohammad Hafeez put the final touches to Pakistan’s first-inning masterful performance. It was always going to be a huge hurdle for India to climb and pursue 339.

With his rapid pace and precision with the line and lengths, Mohammad Amir set the tone for the whole innings by applying constant pressure on the Indian batters. Additionally, he created movement in the air, which helped the ball swing both ways. He abruptly fired Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma while continuing to withstand pressure. The Indians never truly had the upper hand in the game as they frequently lost wickets.

India were 72-6 after 16 overs, staring death in the face. However, Hardik Pandya had other ideas. He pitched a herculean innings and nearly gave the Indians another opportunity to stage a comeback. He hammered a quickfire knock of 76 (43), going for both pacers and spinners.

Unfortunately, a miscommunication with Ravindra Jadeja led to his dismissal, and he lost his cool on the pitch and started throwing flares. From that point on, the Pakistani bowlers wrapped up the match quickly and changed the course of history. The Indian cricket team still bears the scars of that match!