Team pakistan can upset anyone on their day:Mickey Arthur
The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 tournament is finally over and Pakistan team has emerged the winners – they beat India by 180 runs in the final to clinch their maiden Champions Trophy crown.
Pakistan batsman, and century maker in the Champions Trophy final, Fakhar Zaman, revealed that he nearly didn’t play in the showpiece game against India after feeling ill the day before the game.
But veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez s quickfire 57 not out, including three sixes, then took Pakistan well beyond 300.
Having remarkably only just qualified for the tournament they’d go on to win, Pakistan shot up two spots to leapfrog Sri Lanka and Bangladesh into sixth on the ODI charts after their 180-run trouncing of India on Sunday.
India, looking to retain the Champions Trophy, went down without a fight as they collapsed to 158 all out and Amir felt his spell was crucial. We knew what their abilities were, and that certainly wasn’t what we had trained for, and we didn’t play to anywhere near our ability.
“It s been an up and down ride for us but I m just so proud of the boys”, Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur told Sky Sports. They proved it again, they can upset anyone on their day, disappointing for us but I have a smile on my face because we played well to reach the final.
“We want to be a little more consistent as a team but we’ve got a group of players here who are fantastic”.
“To be appointed as captain of the Team of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, which includes some of the finest and most attractive cricketers of this generation, is the flawless icing on the cake”, remarked Sarfraz.
Fakhar makes a confident 31 on ODI debut and Pakistan are well ahead of where they need to be, at 119 for three off 27 overs, when rain sees them win under the Duckworth/Lewis rule.
After man of the match Fakhar finished on 114, Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Amir ripped the heart out of the India batting line-up with the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli.
Amir, once vilified for his role in the 2010 Pakistan spot-fixing scandal which led to him serving a prison term in the United Kingdom, was at his brilliant best when he produced a devastating opening spell. They entered the tournament as the lowest ranked team. The way they turned things around, it was wonderful.
Some Pakistan supporters even mocked India captain Virat Kohli along with a few other players, who didn’t respond to the comments.
Dhawan and Hasan had already won individual trophies for finishing as the most successful batsman and bowler of the tournament respectively.
“The joyous scenes reminded me of our World T20 win in 2009 where I was lucky to play a match-winning role for my team in the semi-final and final”, he wrote.
