What an unexpected turn of events!
Not many people would’ve expected Pakistan to even get through the group stages of the CT 2017, especially after that horrible 124 run defeat against rivals India in their opening game. However, they proved their critics wrong and progressed to the semi finals.
Guess what? They’ve done it again, beating the hosts and pre-tournament favourites England in the semi final by 8 wickets and becoming the first team to enter the final of this major ICC tournament. They brought in Rumman Raees for the injured Mohammad Amir and that turned out to be a good move.
He picked up 2/44 on debut while Hasan Ali’s fantastic tournament only got better, picking up 3/35 and becoming the top bowler of this ICC event so far. Having restricted England to just 211, the visitors were favourites to win but given Pakistan’s horrible history in chases, there were obvious worries.
For the first time in a very long while, the Pakistani openers showed some maturity and we at Read Scoops don’t remember the last time Pakistan put up an ODI opening partnership of 118. Both batsmen missed out on centuries but the middle order kept going.
From 173/2, the middle order just had to maintain a bit of stability and their victory was ensures. They did just that as Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez scored unbeaten thirties. The men in green got over the line in just 37.1 overs and are awaiting tomorrow’s result to know who they will be facing in the final.
Most probably, India will be progressing to the final and what a way that will be to end the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy – another Indo-Pak clash. India won the first one but Pakistan have been unbeaten in the tournament since then. We hope to see a good Semi Final 2 and then a cracker of a final on Sunday.
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