Put in to bat first by India skipper Virat Kohli, who had won the toss and elected to field, the Sarfraz Ahmed-led Pakistan side capitalised on the opportunity to set a massive target of 339 for India to chase in the final tie of the Champions Trophy 2017 at London’s Oval ground.
At the end of ten overs, India scored 47 runs for the loss of three wickets.
Mohammad Amir sent Rohit Sharma back to the pavilion for a duck in the first over and conceded only two runs. He removed Kohli (5) and Shikhar Dhawan (21) in the third and nine overs, respectively.
At the end of ten overs, India scored 47 runs for the loss of three wickets.
Mohammad Amir sent Rohit Sharma back to the pavilion for a duck in the first over and conceded only two runs. He removed Kohli (5) and Shikhar Dhawan (21) in the third and nine overs, respectively.
Pakistan openers Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman gave their side a solid start, with the former scoring 59 and the latter 114 – a partnership of 128 runs. While Ali was run out by Jasprit Bumrah in the 23rd over, Zaman went on to become the first Pakistani player to score three consecutive fifties in an ICC event.
In the last leg of the innings, Mohammad Hafeez scored a quick-fire 57 runs off 37 balls to help his team score the big total.
For India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar scalped Shoaib Malik (12), Hardik Pandya sent Zaman back in the 34th over, and Kedar Jadhav removed Babar Azam (46) in the 43rd over.
In a dramatic twist earlier on in the innings, Zaman had nearly been dismissed as he was nicked a bouncy ball from Jasprit Bumrah and the ball was neatly pouched by wicket-keeper M S Dhoni. However, it emerged in replays that Bumrah had overstepped the crease and delivered a no-ball.
For this important game – the first international match since 2007 where arch-rivals India and Pakistan are clashing in the final of a tournament – India have kept their line-up unchanged from the previous match, while in the Pakistani side pacer Rumman Raees has been replaced by Mohammad Amir.
On each of the last five outings together, including the much-hyped 2015 World Cup clash in Adelaide, Pakistan has choked under pressure. Interestingly, captain Kohli has not only been a member of the playing 11 for India in each of these five matches, he has also been the man of the match on three of these occasions.
However, statistics and records apart, this match is all the more important for India because it is playing to defend its Champions Trophy title. For Pakistan, on the other hand, it is the first time that they have made it to the finals in a Champions Trophy tournament.
While India would look to replicate their past performance to put up a great chase, Pakistan would try all their bowling might in the second innings to upset India’s hopes.