India bowled out for 158 with Mohammad Amir taking three big wickets after Fakhar Zaman's hundred lifted Pakistan to 338/4 in 50 overs.

By Abdullah Ansari (18th June, 2017)

India won the toss and elected to field first in the Champions Trophy final as Mohammad Amir returned to the Pakistan XI, replacing Rumman Raees. The Pakistan openers were nervy at the start with a bit of swing on offer. Bumrah has Fakhar caught in the initial overs but replays showed he had overstepped. That was to be the last chance for the bowling side for quite a while. The Indian bowlers had done their homework and gave minimal room to Fakhar which led to him taking a backseat as Azhar took over as the aggressor. The former ODI captain played some excellent shots while the Indian bowlers conceded plenty of extras meaning that the pace of the innings was not a problem. After the initial 10 overs, Fakhar settled down some what and began to go after the spinners as both batsmen brought up their fifties. However, confusion between the wickets saw Azhar run out for 59 with the team total at 128. Fakhar didn't let this upset him, instead using the platform to plunder 33 runs off the next two overs from Jadeja and Ashwin as the Pakistan innings suddenly gained momentum. With his partner now looking in brutal form, Babar looked to hand over the strike to him. It wasn't long before Fakhar brought up a magnificent 92-ball hundred. However, Pandya soon struck to remove the left-hander for an excellent 114. Babar struggled to up the ante while Malik struggled against the pacers - the latter soon perished to Kumar as Pakistan lost a bit of momentum. After the dismissal, Babar struck a few boundaries as Pakistan regained lost ground while Hafeez came out to bat like a man on a mission, smashing the spinners straight away. With around 7 overs remaining, Babar fell to Jadhav for 46 as he was caught in the deep. Hafeez continued plundering the Indian bowling attack while Imad joined in and rotated strike well while Hafeez did the big hitting. He brought up a fifty off just 34 balls. Despite decent spells by the Indian pacers at the back end, Pakistan made their way to a massive 338/4 in 50 overs.

The Indian chase got off to a miserable start as Amir swung one back into Rohit third ball to have him dismissed LBW. The Pakistani bowlers gave nothing away in the initial few overs, making the Indians work hard for their runs. Amir then got one to shape away slightly from Kohli who edged to the slip cordon, but Azhar grassed the catch. However, it didn't turn out to be a costly drop as Kohli tried to flick the next ball towards the leg-side, got a leading edge and was superbly caught by Shadab. Into the fifth over of his spell, Amir produced another beauty to get rid of the dangerous looking Dhawan who was caught behind. India's chase was in tatters by then and the situation only worsened as Yuvraj struggled against Shadab and was eventually trapped LBW after a superb decision to review the on-field call led by the 18-year-old bowler himself. Hasan came into the attack and soon dismissed Dhoni, the veteran pulled one into the leg-side and was superbly caught by Imad as India were reduced to 54/5. Jadhav played a few shots before he also fell victim to Shadab, top edging one for an easy catch. After a sedate period, Pandya decided to go after the spinners and it bore fruit for the Indian batsman as he rapidly neared a fifty, eventually getting there off just 32 balls. Jadeja was playing the supporting role while Pandya took Shadab for four sixes including three in a row, and then hit Fakhar for two more. However, a mix-up between the batsmen brought his innings to an end as he was run out for 76 off just 43 balls - the young all-rounder was furious at his senior partner. The rest of the innings was a mere formality as Junaid got Jadeja caught in the slips, followed by Hasan picking up the last two wickets of Ashwin and Bumrah, both caught behind. India were bowled out for 158 in just over 30 overs, leading to a massive 180-run defeat and a humiliating loss in the tournament final.

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