A matter of stats: What makes the Pak-India Champions Trophy final historic?

[LA se Karachi]

A matter of stats: What makes the Pak-India Champions Trophy final historic?

Dawn Sport

Pakistan, with an unassailable 339-run target, beat India by a margin of 180 runs in the Champions Trophy final ─ the largest ever in the final of any ICC One Day International event ─ at London's Oval ground on Sunday, ESPNCricinfo reported.

The total set by the green shirts is their highest posted in any tournament final, and their second-highest in an ODI against India. The highest scored by Pakistan against the men in blue was 344 in chase of a target of 350 runs.

The 180-run lead extended by the green shirts was the fifth-highest margin set by any team in any series final.

Pakistan's total was bolstered by a 128-run opening stand between Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman ─ the green shirts' first 100-run stand for the first wicket against India in an ICC ODI event. It is only the second such stand by Pakistan against India in an ICC ODI series.

Also read: How the internet reacted to a nail-biting Pak-India Champions Trophy final

The next-best partnership was an 84-run stand shared by Aamer Sohail and Saeed Anwar in the 1996 World Cup in Begaluru.

Zaman's score of 114 ─ his maiden ODI century ─ is the fourth highest by a Pakistani batsman in a World Cup or Champions Trophy match, and the first 100 for Pakistan in a final of either series.

The Pakistani batsman also racked up 45 runs off Ravichandran Ashwin ─ the highest scored off the right-hand offbreak in an ODI.

Pakistan scored 92.16 runs per wicket and conceded only 18.45 runs per dismissal. The team scored at a rate of 6.34 runs per over, conceding only 4.59 per over.

The difference between Pakistan's bowling and batting averages in the semi-final and final of this tournament comes to about 73.71.

Explore Dawn.com's Champions Trophy coverage here.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1340325/a...the-pak-india-champions-trophy-final-historic

 

[ghazi52]

Five key moments that propelled Pakistan to Champions Trophy glory

Pakistan celebrate their victory over India on the pitch after the ICC Champions Trophy final. ─ AFP

Following are five key moments that helped Pakistan win the Champions Trophy for the first time with a crushing 180-run victory over holders India at The Oval on Sunday.

Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed loses toss

India have done well chasing down targets so captain Virat Kohli opted to put his rivals in to bat first.

It proved to be a good toss to lose as Sarfaraz said he would also have elected to field if he had won it.

"We wanted to bowl first. But the toss is out of our control. Hopefully, we can post more than 300," Sarfaraz said.

Opener Fakhar Zaman is caught by MS Dhoni for three ─ off a no ball

With his bat tucked under his arm, Fakhar begins the long walk back to the pavilion as the Indians celebrate grabbing their first wicket with only four runs on the board.

The celebrations swiftly change direction, however, when replays on the big scoreboard show that Jasprit Bumrah had bowled a no ball and Fakhar is called back to the crease.

It proved to be a costly no ball as Fakhar goes on to score his first international century before falling for 114.

Kohli fails to capitalise on a dropped catch on five

The Indian captain had come into the match with an astonishing batting average of 253 runs in this year's tournament, having been dismissed only once in four matches.

So when he was dropped by Azhar Ali in the slips off Mohammad Amir in the third over, huge cheers erupted around the arena.

Pakistan made sure it did not turn out to be a costly mistake, though, as Amir dismissed him next ball.

His departure proved to be a bad omen for the Indians as the only other time he had been dismissed in this year's Champions Trophy ─ against Sri Lanka in the group stage ─ the holders also lost the match.

Amir back in the team after missing semi-final with back injury


Amir, once vilified for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal which led to him serving a prison term in London, was at his brilliant best when he produced a devastating opening spell.

He removed India's top three batsmen ─ Rohit Sharma (0), Shikhar Dhawan (21) and Kohli (5).

After leaving India reeling on six for two following the dismissals of Sharma and Kohli, Amir's figures read 1.4 overs, four runs, two wickets.

His transformation into a hero was complete as his final tally was six overs, two maidens, 16 runs and three wickets.

Hardik Pandya, India's last hope, run out for 76 after showering the ground with sixes


Pandya came to the crease with India teetering on 54 for five after Yuvraj Singh and former captain Dhoni departed in quick succession.

He raised hopes of pulling off a one-man Indian Houdini act as he hit three successive sixes to reach his half century.

But just when it seemed that he was blazing towards a first international century, he was run out after a mix-up with Ravindra Jadeja.

India still had three wickets in hand but the deafening cheers from Pakistan fans made clear that the end was nigh.

India lost their last four wickets for the addition of only six runs.

 

[The Sandman]

Amir, once vilified for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal which led to him serving a prison term in London,

Seriously was that really important to write DAWN?

 

[M. Sarmad]

Beauty in unpredictability: The wonder that is Pakistan cricket

The world of sports abounds in tales of the unexpected. But few countries have such a penchant, indeed fetish, for accomplishing the impossible like Pakistan.

Some of their triumphs have bordered on phantasmagoria. Back in ODI 1992WC, it was rain that wrecked South Africa and gave the kiss of life to Pakistan. Then Imran Khan and company discovered Inzamam-ul-Haq, a rookie who batted with the calm of a monk and had the strokes of a master. Like a super jigsaw, everything fell into place in the final against England.

The improbable happened a second time in T20 WC2009. Then too, led by an unflappable Younis Khan, Pakistan emerged from a shaky start to peak at the right time. In the final at Lord’s, their batsmen dominated Lanka’s inscrutable 3Ms: Malinga, Muralitharan and (Ajantha) Mendis.

There is plenty of parallel between that unlikely victory and Sunday’s routing of India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final. The victories came at a time when Pakistan is wracked by a vicious and violent internal strife, at least partly of its own making.


The killings and the bomb blasts have made all foreign teams wary of visiting the country. In recent years, Pakistan has been forced to play its home Test series in the Middle East. It isn’t easy to sustain domestic cricket in such trying times.

The national cricket team has also been blighted by betting and spot-fixing controversies that have kept some of its major or fledgling stars out of the game for some years. Yet Pakistan has overcome such odds.

Despite the sorry state of its internal affairs, the country continues to produce one special player after another. Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan are such talents that Champions Trophy 2017 has thrown up before the cricket world. And the final was the ultimate redemption for Mohammad Amir, a gifted bowler who lost his way in the dark only to exorcise his demons and rule.

It would be fair to say that this is not one of the truly great teams of Pakistan. But it is equally true that the best teams always don’t win trophies. In 1982, Brazil did not lift the world football cup. They still say, it is the best team never to have lifted the coveted trophy.

In 1983, Kapil’s Devils won the ODI world cup. It wasn’t the best team in the tournament. It simply played the best cricket that fortnight. This is exactly what captain Sarfraz Ahmed’s boys did after being walloped by India in the group game and becoming the butt of a million digs and memes.

Every match they played thereafter was a knock-out game for them. They won every time. South Africa, Sri Lanka, England and, finally, firm foe India – all were swept aside.

Like an old radio, Pakistan took time to warm up. But once it did, it was unstoppable. It was, as if, something buried deep inside had been stirred and woken up.

Call it rhythm, call it self-belief, Pakistan found that elusive ingredient, and in the process, it even surprised itself. How do you explain a team that couldn’t bat, bowl or field against India a mere fortnight ago suddenly morphed into an all-conquering Bahubali?

Probably it would be more appropriate to read Pakistan cricket through the looking glass of art, rather than try to decode it via science and logic. Science prides itself in producing the same result with the same mix of ingredient. Art inhabits another universe and answers itself in an alternate language. In this cosmos, you are either inspired or insipid. That probably lies at the core of Pakistan’s cricket soul.

What about India? There’s plenty to write about captain Kohli and his million dollar boys too. But for the moment let us just celebrate beauty in unpredictability and the wonder that is Pakistan cricket.


http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatime...tability-the-wonder-that-is-pakistan-cricket/

 

[Jinn Baba]

It was a typical Pak v Ind confrontation - they came thinking they were something great and we slapped em about like a bunch of little b'tches pretty much what our military has been doing to theirs for years

 

[ghazi52]

 

[Proudpakistaniguy]

If we leave the trolling of Media and overconfidence and arrogance of Indian fans aside then boht teams have played this match in good spirit. India is great side to compete with on cricket ground and Pakistani team still have areas where they need improvement. We should also respect Kohli as he has shown great character to embrace the defeat with grace

 

[khanz]

Beauty in unpredictability: The wonder that is Pakistan cricket

The world of sports abounds in tales of the unexpected. But few countries have such a penchant, indeed fetish, for accomplishing the impossible like Pakistan.

Some of their triumphs have bordered on phantasmagoria. Back in ODI 1992WC, it was rain that wrecked South Africa and gave the kiss of life to Pakistan. Then Imran Khan and company discovered Inzamam-ul-Haq, a rookie who batted with the calm of a monk and had the strokes of a master. Like a super jigsaw, everything fell into place in the final against England.

The improbable happened a second time in T20 WC2009. Then too, led by an unflappable Younis Khan, Pakistan emerged from a shaky start to peak at the right time. In the final at Lord’s, their batsmen dominated Lanka’s inscrutable 3Ms: Malinga, Muralitharan and (Ajantha) Mendis.

There is plenty of parallel between that unlikely victory and Sunday’s routing of India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final. The victories came at a time when Pakistan is wracked by a vicious and violent internal strife, at least partly of its own making.


The killings and the bomb blasts have made all foreign teams wary of visiting the country. In recent years, Pakistan has been forced to play its home Test series in the Middle East. It isn’t easy to sustain domestic cricket in such trying times.

The national cricket team has also been blighted by betting and spot-fixing controversies that have kept some of its major or fledgling stars out of the game for some years. Yet Pakistan has overcome such odds.

Despite the sorry state of its internal affairs, the country continues to produce one special player after another. Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan are such talents that Champions Trophy 2017 has thrown up before the cricket world. And the final was the ultimate redemption for Mohammad Amir, a gifted bowler who lost his way in the dark only to exorcise his demons and rule.

It would be fair to say that this is not one of the truly great teams of Pakistan. But it is equally true that the best teams always don’t win trophies. In 1982, Brazil did not lift the world football cup. They still say, it is the best team never to have lifted the coveted trophy.

In 1983, Kapil’s Devils won the ODI world cup. It wasn’t the best team in the tournament. It simply played the best cricket that fortnight. This is exactly what captain Sarfraz Ahmed’s boys did after being walloped by India in the group game and becoming the butt of a million digs and memes.

Every match they played thereafter was a knock-out game for them. They won every time. South Africa, Sri Lanka, England and, finally, firm foe India – all were swept aside.

Like an old radio, Pakistan took time to warm up. But once it did, it was unstoppable. It was, as if, something buried deep inside had been stirred and woken up.

Call it rhythm, call it self-belief, Pakistan found that elusive ingredient, and in the process, it even surprised itself. How do you explain a team that couldn’t bat, bowl or field against India a mere fortnight ago suddenly morphed into an all-conquering Bahubali?

Probably it would be more appropriate to read Pakistan cricket through the looking glass of art, rather than try to decode it via science and logic. Science prides itself in producing the same result with the same mix of ingredient. Art inhabits another universe and answers itself in an alternate language. In this cosmos, you are either inspired or insipid. That probably lies at the core of Pakistan’s cricket soul.

What about India? There’s plenty to write about captain Kohli and his million dollar boys too. But for the moment let us just celebrate beauty in unpredictability and the wonder that is Pakistan cricket.


http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatime...tability-the-wonder-that-is-pakistan-cricket/

There is way more killings in the U.S than pakistan at this point Donald Trump has made america the laughing stock of the world and also this is not pakistan circa 2007-14 anymore where I admit after lal masjid incident taliban where running riot but Pakistan has put them down and has been massively on the rise then - also do they know what is happening in the UK there is mass anti-government sentiment and political tension. Why the need to mention terrorism or politics if pakistan win ?
why can't people just stick purely to analyzing the sport ? I try to be pretty neutral in general and have given all respect to the indian team but i'm sorry there it not much difference in pakistan than what i going on today in many other countries. I find this article is just a back handed compliment.

 

[LA se Karachi]

 

[hassamun]

 

[LA se Karachi]