Pakistan thumped India in the final of ICC Champions Trophy played at The Oval on 18 June by 180 runs winning their first ever Champions Trophy.
Before the start of the Champions Trophy, not many people gave Pakistan a chance. Inconsistency, lack of big names and alien English conditions were the reason.
Their hopes were shattered further after a humiliating defeat in the first match against India at Edgbaston. However, they showed immense character in regrouping quickly and haven”t looked back since then.
Losing the first game always makes things lot more challenging in a small tournament like this making rest of the matches virtual knockouts. And to play a team like South Africa who was coming after a crushing win against Sri Lanka in their first match was never going to be easy. However Pakistani bowlers put their best foot forward in bowling them for 219 and winning on D/L method.
After a close win against Sri Lanka in the third league game Pakistan booked their place in the Semifinals. The semi-final was a one-sided affair as men in green steamrolled the host and were up against arch-rivals India in the final.
When heroes became champions!
It was quite the welcome home for the #CT17 Champions! pic.twitter.com/UzhmJrgvZc
— ICC (@ICC) June 20, 2017
Pakistan outplayed India in all departments of the game comprehensively beating India by 180 runs to lift the elusive Champions Trophy. It is obvious the joy of fans will know no bounds after such a dramatic turnaround.
Thank you Pakistan #thank you gujranawala #thank you my village ladhe wala warraich pic.twitter.com/cCLLFNaB04
— Hassan Ali 🇵🇰 (@RealHa55an) June 20, 2017
Pakistan crowds have always been wavering. When the team wins they would treat cricketers like kings and won”t hesitate to even pelt stones if cricketers don”t play as per their expectations. After coming home the Pakistani cricketers received the warmest of the welcomes one could ever get.
https://twitter.com/TheRealPCB/status/877124745581416449
A pic is going viral on social media where a car is surrounded by a huge crowd with some of them even having Pakistan flag in hand. This is enough to show how much Pakistanis love their cricket.
Watch Here:-
https://twitter.com/HashmeNabeel/status/877030746749259777
memorable day of lifee!! Thankyou @SarfarazA_54 for this unreal moment!😭😪❤️ pic.twitter.com/N6k7W43lh5
— Abdur Rahman (@imabdur25) June 20, 2017