The 2017 Champions Trophy didn't turn the way the fans would have hoped for the Indian cricket team. The Men In Blue under Virat Kohli's leadership did exceptionally well on their course to the final, which turned out to be a disaster for the Men In Blue. The star studded Indian unit were completely decimated by arch rivals Pakistan in the summit clash, with the latter winning the match by 180 runs.
Batting first the opening pair of Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman laid a perfect platform for Pakistan and stitched 128 runs in 23 overs. While Azhar managed 59 off 71, Zaman continued further and scored 114 off 106 before getting out against Hardik Pandya. Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez also made significant contribution with the bat and took Pakistan's total to 338/4 in 50 overs.
The 339-run target was challenging but a gettable one. However, the Indian top-order featuring Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Kohli completely crashed, leaving the team reeling at 33 for 3 in 9 overs. The match was well gone by them given the target at hand but Pandya did manage to add some life to the run chase with his powerful range of shots.
Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, who were the last recognised batting pair added 80 runs in less than 10 overs, but all hopes diminished after a mix-up between the two led to a run-out. Pandya was dismissed for 76 off 43 balls, which featured four boundaries and six maximums.
Soon after Pandya's dismissal, India's lost all their remaining wickets and were bundled out for 158 in 30.3 overs. The outcome saw Pakistan lift the Champions Trophy under Sarfaraz Ahmed – their first ICC title since the 2009 T20 World Cup, which was also played in England.
Sanjay Bangar, who was India's batting coach then, revisited the episode while discussing the match on ESPNcricinfo. "When Hardik and Jadeja were batting, the target was too steep even then. He played a good innings and struck some big sixes, but barring that, we were out of the game when we lost the top order. Hardik was fuming, but he didn't let that frustration out on his teammate. It was more on himself in a way that 'I could have won this match for India'. In such a scenario, the player should be left alone," he said.
India will be locking horns with Pakistan on February 23 in this edition of the Champions Trophy. Both nations are pooled in the same group, which also features New Zealand and Bangladesh.
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