Ah, an India-Pakistan encounter after ages. We don’t get to watch these that often anymore. Long gone are the days when these two faced each other in bilateral series and kept the viewers glued to the television.
These days, it is only in tournaments like the Champions Trophy where the fans get to see the clash of the bitter rivals – and tonight they saw India thump their neighbours in a convincing manner.
Extra Cover: ICC Champions Trophy 2017: India vs Pakistan, 5 things that went wrong for Pakistan
Batting first, India posted a target of 320 and their bowlers came to the party as well, dismantling the Pakistan batting unit for only 164.
Here are 5 memorable moments from the match that don't fade away, quite like the Axe Signature range of body perfumes:
#1 Virat Kohli builds the innings
After the fine but slow start that Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan gave to the team, it was up to Virat Kohli to do the rest. Coming in to bat at a comfortable position of 136 after 24.3 overs, Kohli had the perfect platform to launch and so he did.
With the help of six boundaries and three sixes, the captain of the team made an unbeaten 81 off just 68 balls. His innings not only provided the much-needed acceleration after Rohit Sharma’s uncharacteristically slow innings, but it was also the perfect display of innings architecture from Kohli.
#2 Yuvraj’s fury
There are few sights in the world better than Yuvraj Singh yielding the bat like a Samurai sword and timing the ball to perfection. The World Cup winning batsman scored 53 runs from only 32 balls with the aid of eight boundaries and a six.
The innings actually helped India make up for the 61 dot balls that Rohit Sharma played in his innings and added at least 10 extra runs on the scoreboard.
#3 Azhar Ali’s good start
Chasing 320 against the current Indian bowling line up is not an easy task. Not only do India have some quality bowlers, they are also coming off the back of a good Indian Premier League. A good start was the need of the hour for Pakistan, and Azhar Ali gave just that.
The talented batsman scored 50 runs from 65 balls to give his team a steady start, but the rest of the batsmen didn’t build on the platform that he had created as they fell to the fiery Indian line up.
Ali’s innings was adorned with six boundaries and he will be the key for Pakistan in the games to come.
#4 Jadeja and Pandya’s identical figures
Oh, how these two have grown to become important figures in the Indian team. Both Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya had a great game with the ball and completely dismantled the Pakistan middle order with their fantastic display.
The two ended with eerily similar figures of 8-0-43-2 and their wickets consisted of Sarfraz Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Imad Wasim and Mohammed Hafeez – the four pillars of this Pakistan team’s batting line up. Despite having an economy of over five, they took wickets at regular intervals to halt the progress of their arch rivals.
#5 Umesh Yadav’s devastating spell
Pakistan were the unfortunate victims as Umesh Yadav decided to channel his inner Kapil Dev. Among the three pacers in the team, Umesh wasn’t expected to be the best bowler on the night, but in his 7.4 overs, he did everything a bowler should - he was economical and picked up wickets.
While Jadeja and Pandya cleaned up Pakistan’s middle order, Umesh got the important wicket of Babar Azam and then completed his spell by dismantling the tail-enders. He ended with figures of 3/30 in what was an impressive start to the Champions Trophy for the pacer.
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