OTD 2017 – India slam Pakistan by 124 runs in Champions Trophy
The 2017 Champions Trophy season came in with additional responsibilities for India as they were the defending champions looking to win their successive cup. India’s very first match walking into the 2017 edition of the tournament was against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Winning the toss, Pakistan had elected to field first. The Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan started off slow but maintained their place on the crease and Pakistan bowlers strived to bag their first wicket. The duo put up a brilliant 136-run stand before Dhawan (68 off 65) was picked up by Azhar Ali in the 25th over.
Skipper Virat Kohli joined Rohit on the field as the two aimed to go long in the game. Kohli also struggled initially but picked up the pace quickly as the two added 56 runs for the second wicket partnership. Rohit failed to get a century as he fell on 91(119), but Kohli and Yuvraj Singh wreaked havoc on the field and punished the bowlers.
Apart from the openers, Kohli and Yuvraj managed to compile their respective half-centuries as the duo stood along for a long time and added 93 runs for the third wicket. Yuvraj Singh kept finding the gaps at regular intervals to hit the ball towards the fence, and Kohli joined him in the carnage as he stood unbeaten for a 68-ball 81*. Thanks to the half-centuries by the four batters, India ended their innings scoring 319 runs at the loss of just three wickets after the game was reduced to 48 overs a-side.
Around five overs into Pakistan’s chase, the game was paused due to rain and the target had to be reduced to 289 in 41 overs and the Indian bowlers were handed over a big responsibility of the defense. Pakistan lost the first wicket in the form of Ahmed Shehzad as soon as the game resumed.
Opener Azhar Ali kept his place intact for a while, but it did not take much long for the Indian bowlers to dish out the top-order as Umesh Yadav scalped Babar Azam and Ravindra Jadeja scalped Azhar Ali to reduce Pakistan to 91/3 in the 21st over. Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik tried to bring out their best, but thanks to Jadeja’s bowling and fielding skills, the latter had to walk back facing a terrible run-out, and the former fell prey to Jadeja shortly.
Pakistan’s batting unit struggled and their campaign opener turned out to be a nightmare for them as India shone brightly to win the game by a whopping 124 runs.
