India defeated Pakistan by 124 runs (D/L Method). (Source: Reuters)
Indian team hit the perfect notes to kick-start their ICC Champions Trophy 2017 campaign after they defeated arch rivals Pakistan by 124 runs (D/L method) in the first match. Pakistan who won the toss asked Virat Kohli’s men to bat first and the Indian batting unit responded in the most emphatic fashion.
Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma gave India a flamboyant start and notch up yet another 100-run partnership, their third in ICC Champions Trophy. The left-right batting combination compiled a total of 136 runs for the first wicket before Dhawan was sent back in the pavilion.
Later, Virat and Rohit took on the Pakistan bowling attack. Sharma though was denied a hundred after getting tun-out for 91 but his batting did setup a good base for India to score a big total. Kohli and Yuvraj then shifted gears and hammered the Pakistan bowling while Hardik Pandya who came in at number five smacked three consecutive maximums in the last over. India scored 319/3. The Indian players shared their thoughts about this win over Pakistan on social media.
What a way to start#CT17 great team effort.Well played @ImRo45 @imVkohli @YUVSTRONG12 @SDhawan25 thank you Birmingham for ur support @BCCI
— ajinkyarahane88 (@ajinkyarahane88) 5 June 2017
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Great team effort, studded with some outstanding individual performances. Well done Team India. @imVkohli @imjadeja @YUVSTRONG12 @ImRo45 👏
— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) 4 June 2017
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Good game today…also a great start to our #CT17 campaign. Looking forward to the oval now.
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) 4 June 2017
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Great win to kick start our #CT2017 campaign. Electrifying atmosphere in Birmingham, thank you for all the love @BCCI
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) 4 June 2017
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In reply, Azhar Ali showed resistance to Indian bowling but fall of wickets at regular intervals didn’t allow Pakistan to take an upper hand on Indian bowlers and they were eventually defeated at Edgbaston.
