After their convincing loss at the hands of India in their opening game of the tournament, few would have expected Pakistan to be the first team to reach the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. But then again, Pakistan have never believed in logic or sticking to the record books and so it turned out as they beat England by eight wickets at Cardiff to book their berth in the final.
Extra Cover: Who Said What: World reacts as Pakistan reach ICC Champions Trophy 2017 final
After winning the toss and electing to field, the visitors didn't have luck on their side early on but they made some of their own with some stunning fielding and exceptional bowling as they bundled out the hosts for just 211.
In response, Pakistan’s openers put on a century partnership and set the ideal platform that was built on by Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez who saw their side home with eight wickets and 77 balls to spare.
Here are some interesting statistical highlights from the game:
0 – No batsman has ever faced more balls without hitting a boundary in a Champions Trophy match than Ben Stokes, who faced 64 balls against Pakistan, without one. The previous record was 59.
1 – This will be the first time that Pakistan will be playing in a Champions Trophy final.
2 – At 18 years and 253 days, Shadab Khan is the second-youngest to feature in the semi-final or final of an ICC ODI tournament behind teammate Mohammad Amir.
3 – This will only be the third All-Asian final in an ICC ODI event. The previous two times both involved India and Sri Lanka (once in Champions Trophy 2002 and then in the 2011 World Cup). This time it will be Pakistan vs India/Bangladesh.
3 – Eoin Morgan became just the third English batsman after Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood to score 5,000 ODI runs.
6 – Hasan Ali became the sixth bowler to take three consecutive three-wicket hauls in the Champions Trophy after Michael Kasprowicz, Muttiah Muralitharan, Wayne Parnell, Stuart Broad and Mitchell McClengahan.
8 – Saeed Ajmal’s tally of eight wickets in the 2009 Champions Trophy was the previous highest tally of wickets taken by a Pakistani bowler in a single edition. The record now belongs to Hasan Ali, who has 10.
19 – England have now played in 19 ICC ODI events (11 World Cups and 8 Champions Trophies) and are now the only top-eight side to not have won even one such tournament.
20.05 – Among all the teams in the Champions Trophy, England’s average opening partnership is the worst.
77 – Pakistan won with 77 balls to spare, which is the second-biggest win in terms of balls remaining in the history of the Champions Trophy while chasing totals in excess of 200. Sri Lanka’s win over Pakistan in 2002 was the biggest, 83 balls.
90 – The previous-best opening partnership for Pakistan in the Champions Trophy was 90 between Saeed Anwar and Imran Nazir. Zaman and Ali beat that record today.
2013 – Pakistan recorded back-to-back fifty-plus opening stands outside Asia for the first time since 2013.
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