On this day in 2017: India beat Pakistan by 124 runs in Champions Trophy
Exactly 4 years ago, on 4th June 2017, the Indian cricket team thrashed their arch-rivals Pakistan in a Champions Trophy encounter at Birmingham. India proved to be superior to their opponents in every aspect of the game and beat their rivals by a mammoth margin of 124 runs.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first. And, the Indian top-order produced a resplendent batting performance. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma gave India a blazing start. The duo put on a partnership of 136 runs for the opening wicket. While Sharma scored 91 off 119 deliveries, Dhawan scored a 65-ball 68.
24,156 the official attendance today. Highest attendance for an ODI at Edgbaston. #INDvPAK
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) June 4, 2017
Skipper Virat Kohli and batting legend Yuvraj Singh continued from where the Indian openers had left off. While Kohli scored a flamboyant 81* at a strike rate of 119.11, Yuvraj Singh pounded the Pakistan bowling attack and scored a whirlwind 53 off just 32 deliveries. Hardik Pandya applied the finishing touches and scored 20* off just 6 deliveries, and India ended their innings with their scorecard reading 319/3 in their allotted 48 overs.
The rain came down when Pakistan started their run chase, and the target for the Pakistan side was revised to 289 off 41 overs. The Pakistan batting lineup produced an extremely poor performance. Except for opener Azhar Ali and veteran batsman Mohammad Hafeez, who scored 50 and 33 respectively, none of the other Pakistan willow wielders could even cross the 20-run mark.
And, the Pakistan side was bowled out for just 164 runs in 33.4 overs. Umesh Yadav was the stand out performer for the Indian side with the ball. The right-arm pacer picked up 3 wickets in 7.4 overs and gave away 30 runs. Apart from Yadav, the likes of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja scalped a couple of wickets each. And, for his blistering half-century for the Indian side, Yuvraj Singh won the Player of the Match award.
