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Champions Trophy 2017: 5 OPPO Strengths that India and Pakistan brought to the Final

Champions Trophy 2017: 5 OPPO Strengths that India and Pakistan brought to the Final.

London, June 21: Pakistan cricket team defied all odds and proved their critics wrong as they lifted their maiden ICC Champions Trophy when they defeated defending champions India in the final on Sunday (June 18).

CT 17 Special Site; Photos

Put in to bat, the Men In Green posted a mammoth target of 338/4 against arch-rivals and title favourites India and later bundled the Men In Blue for a paltry 158 to win the match by a huge margin of 180 runs.

The win against India was unprecedented for nobody had ever imagined that Pakistan, who were badly bruised and battered by India in their opening would produce such a huge upset.

Before start of the tournament every cricket pundit had predicted about Pakistan's ouster from the league stage itself, but Sarfraz Ahmed and his boys silenced their critics as the tournament progressed.

It was the sheer grit and determination to prove the others wrong which kept the fire in their belly as a young Pakistan team went from strength to strength.

After stunning South Africa in their second league match, this young Pakistan team never looked back and crushed everyone who came across their way to the finals.

On the other hand, Team India, under the leadership of their charismatic skipper Virat Kohli, lived up to the expectation and entered the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

India, who were the defending champions, made it to the second consecutive final by claiming a resounding 9-wicket win over Bangladesh in the semi-final and set up a summit clash with arch-rivals Pakistan.

Here are 5 OPPO Strengths that Pakistan brought to the Final:

Lethal pace bowling

Lethal pace bowling

Pakistan's pace battery comprising Mohammed Amir, Hasan Ali and Junaid Khan were one of the biggest pillars of strength for the team in the global tournament. Together these three bowlers accounted for 26 wickets in the tournament.

Hasan Ali won the golden ball award for picking up 13 wickets from 5 games he played in the tournament and emerged as the highest wicket-taker.

Junaid Khan was the third highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 8 scalps under his name. While Mohammad Amir, who single-handedly rattled the Indian batting order in the final was equally economical in the four games he played.

Lethal pace bowling has always been Pakistan's key to success and it was once again at it's menacing best in the ICC tournament to emerge as their biggest strength.

Sarfraz Ahmed's inspiring captaincy

Sarfraz Ahmed's inspiring captaincy

A captain's role is always important in a team's success during any big tournament and Sarfraz Ahmed passed with flying colours.

Pakistan's morale would have been badly hurt after a shambolic defeat against India in the tournament opener but skipper Sarfraz deserves all the credit for gathering the team around and encouraging them to start afresh.

His inspirational captaincy did the work and Pakistan returned on the winning track in the very next game. He was very accurate with his field placements and shrewd with his bowling changes.

The skipper didn't shy away from taking bold decision by benching senior but out-of-form Ahmed Shehzad and giving an opportunity to a debutant Fakhar Zaman in the must -win game against South Africa and it just clicked.

Sarfraz also played a captain's knock when it mattered the most against Sri Lanka and steered the team to the semi-final.

Fearless attitude

Fearless attitude

After losing the first game against India the Pakistan team started playing fearlessly.

Their fearless attitude against a No.1 ranked South African team was evident with the way they restricted a star-studded side to a below-par score.

Pakistani batsmen then set out the run chase fearlessly and won the game by Duckworth-Lewis method.

The team became fearless after that win against Proteas and never looked back ever since. It was their fearless attitude against Sri Lanka and later against hosts England in the semi-final that helped Pakistan enter in the final.

Fakhar Zaman's opening batting

Fakhar Zaman's opening batting

If there was one trump card for Pakistan's turnaround in the tournament it has to be this promising young opener.

Playing his debut ODI tournament that too at such a pressure stage, Zaman didn't let the pressure affect him and batted with courage and determination.

The 27-year-old cleared his intentions with his aggressive batting against South Africa in his debut game. In the remaining 3 games in the tournament Zaman slammed two fifties and a brilliant hundred in the final against India. He gave an aggressive start to the side in all the games and the team could capitalise upon it.

Zaman's entry into the side proved to be a lucky charm for Pakistan didn't lose a single game in the tournament after his debut.

Young brigade was athletic in the field

Young brigade was athletic in the field

After a lopsided display of fielding against India in their opening match, Pakistan's young brigade learnt from its mistakes in the field.

Their fielding was pathetic against India for dropped chances and terrible fielding in the deep cost them badly in the match at Birmingham.

The team went back on the drawing board and rectified their mistakes.

They looked confident in the field in the matches post debacle against India. Better fielding helped the bowlers build pressure over opposition batsmen which eventually helped them to get wickets.

Solid opening performances

Solid opening performances

Indian duo of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan emerged as the most successful opening pair of the tournament.

Dhawan and Rohit became the most successful opening pair in the history of the tournament as they have scored 766 runs from 10 matches at an average of 76.60.

They overtook Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who have 635 runs from nine matches.

It was the positive start given by these two batsmen which laid the foundation for a good start for India. Both Rohit and Dhawan slammed a ton each in the tournament to help the team enter the finals.

Shikhar Dhawan's continued love affair with ICC events

Shikhar Dhawan's continued love affair with ICC events

Continuing his romance for with the ICC tournaments, the bat of Team India's Gabbar (Shikhar Dhawan is fondly called) kept roaring.

Dhawan won the Golden Bat trophy after finishing as the leading run-getter of the tournament. Dhawan scored 338 runs in 5 matches including 1 century.

The left-hander scored 68 against Pakistan, 125 against Sri Lanka, 78 against South Africa, 46 in the semi-final against Bangladesh and 21 against Pakistan in the final.

It was his superlative form which helped the team enter the finals of the tournament

Virat Kohli's captaincy

Virat Kohli's captaincy

Team India's charismatic skipper and batting mainstay was in sublime form during the tournament. The 28-year-old top order batsman had a decent outing in the Champions Trophy going by his standards.

He emerged as the fourth highest run getter (258 in 5 matches). Unfortunately Kohli did not score a hundred this time but 96* against Bangladesh in the semi-final was his highest.

Kohli's aggressive captaincy was also responsible for the team's success in the tournament. His brilliant decision on bowling changes and field placements did wonders for the team.

The experience of MS Dhoni

The experience of MS Dhoni

Team India played like defending champions in the tournament as they entered the finals quite convincingly.

Credit for clinical performances in the tournament also goes to the presence of a brilliant cricketing mind in the team in MS Dhoni.

Dhoni was the skipper of the team that won the previous edition of the tournament in 2013 and his vital inputs at crucial junctures greatly helped the young captain Kohli.

Remember the decision to use Kedar Jadhav against well-set Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim during semi-final against Bangladesh. Jadhav was introduced when no regular bowler was able to break the partnership and he gave the breakthrough that India needed.

Dhoni's presence behind the stumps ensured Kohli didn't waste his reviews, which we have seen him doing on several occasions in the past.

Dhoni's presence in the field as well as in the dressing room has done wonders for Team India and it once again emerged as a major pillar of strength for the team.

Disciplined bowling

Disciplined bowling

India's bowling has emerged as a force to reckon with in the recent years. In fact, India's good bowling display has now become directly proportional to its chances of winning.

Indian pace battery has become lethal with the induction of young Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami's presence in the side makes it stronger.

OneIndia News

Story first published: Thursday, August 3, 2017, 7:53 [IST]
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