Pakistan thrash India in cricket final
June 18, 2017
Defending champions India proved no match for Pakistan on Sunday, losing the much-awaited final game of the Champions Trophy by 180 runs at The Oval in London.
Pakistan's batting tally was led by a century scored by Man of the Match Fakhar Zaman, who made 114 off 106 balls before being caught out by Ravindra Jadeja off the bowling of Hardik Pandya. Mohammad Hafeez, not out on 57, and Babar Azam, out caught after making 46, were also major contributors in the final score of 338.
Chasing a challenging total, India made a faltering start, losing the wicket of Rohit Sharma on the third ball of the innings, and fell further to 6-72 by the 16th over, with left-arm paceman Mohammad Amir removing all of India's top three batsmen. Hardik Pandya caused some nervousness for the Pakistani side with his 76, but when he was run out off the bowling of Hasan Ali, India put up little more resistance, scoring just six more runs to reach 158 with 19.3 overs to spare
Historic victory
The victory ends India's hopes of becoming the first team to capture the title three times.
With its win, Pakistan, which came into the tournament ranked No. 8 in the world, has clinched its first Champions Trophy victory.
The cricket rivalry between the neighboring countries of Pakistan and India is traditionally matched in intensity only by that between England and Australia, and the match had been awaited with eager anticipation by fans from both sides.
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tj/sms (AFP, Reuters, AP)