On This Day In 2017: Pakistan Beat India in One-sided Final to Clinch Champions Trophy

The Champions Trophy triumph in 2017 must be a golden memory for Pakistan cricket. A team that has mostly struggled against India in ICC tournaments, beat the arch-rivals to claim the coveted title for the first time in history. The big-ticket final was hosted at the Kennington Oval in London seven years back on June 18.

It turned out to be a one-sided clash after the Indian batting unit suffered a rare collapse in the second innings. The pitch appeared quite batting-friendly when Pakistan produced a comprehensive total of 338 runs at a loss of four wickets in 50 overs.

In response, India managed only 158 runs as they were bundled out in 30.3 overs.

India and Pakistan were pooled in the same group and locked horns in the campaign opener. The Men in Blue emerged victorious in the rain-affected Group B fixture, registering a 124-run win as per the DLS method.

India lost the next match to Sri Lanka before defeating South Africa to finish the league stage with four points. Meanwhile, Pakistan won the remaining two games and accumulated the same points to secure the second spot in the group table.

India were up against Bangladesh in the semi-final and picked up a comfortable nine-wicket win to book a place in the summit clash. Pakistan, on the other hand, beat England by eight wickets to reach the Champions Trophy final.

Despite losing the toss, the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side made a roaring start in London. Fakhar Zaman and Azhar Ali appeared at their devastating best and stitched an opening partnership of 128 runs. India tasted their first success in the form of a run-out, which ended Ali’s innings at 59 runs. Zaman then joined hands with Babar Azam, who was also in sublime form.

The duo racked up 72 runs together before Hardik Pandya dismissed Zaman for 114 runs. His centurion knock was laced with as many as 12 boundaries and three sixes. Babar also enjoyed a good outing but fell four runs short of a half-century.

Mohammed Hafeez contributed with an unbeaten 57 while Imad Wasim chipped in with a 25-run cameo.

India lost the wicket of Rohit Sharma early in the very first over. Virat Kohli also failed to survive long and headed back to the pavilion with five runs. Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh made some efforts before surrendering to Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan respectively.

The Indian middle-order also looked quite pale, with both MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav returning with a single-digit score.

That’s when Hardik Pandya took over the charge and struck a blazing 76 off 43 balls. He, however, got no support from the other batters as India lost the Champions Trophy final by a huge margin of 180 runs. Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman was named the player of the match for his commendable show with the bat.

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