Pakistan v India: Key Plays

MAN OF THE DAY – PAKISTAN: MOHAMMAD AMIR

Pakistan’s ace in the pack was irresistible, tearing through Rohit Sharma’s defences in the first over, finding Virat Kohli’s outside edge in his third and removing him from his very next ball, and then sending Shikhar Dhawan back in the fifth over of a match-defining opening spell. “The thing about Mohammad, is he’s a big-game player,” said a beaming Mickey Arthur, and what a stage on which to turn it on.

MAN OF THE DAY – INDIA: HARDIK PANDYA

India’s all-rounder stormed off in a fury after being run out on 76, and it was hardly surprising given that he had just smashed five of his six maximums in the space of just three overs. Despite the abject way his innings ended, with Ravindra Jadeja refusing to budge out of his ground as Pandya arrived alongside next to him, the 24-year-old still gave notice of the kind of talent which prompted Yuvraj Singh to acclaim him the nearest India has to a Ben Stokes.

SHOT OF THE DAY

Pakistan were on 128 at the time of the first wicket, Fakhar Zaman having just brought up his third fifty of the tournament, when Azhar Ali was run out. Undeterred, Fakhar kicked off the 26th over by hitting Jadeja over long-on; then waited for the drag-down to punch a boundary off the back foot, before jumping in-to-out to deposit the final delivery over cover. Four balls later, the best of the lot: a scamper down the pitch to Ravichandran Ashwin, an off-balance tilt to the offside, and a second flat six of his innings straight back over the bowler’s head. Unstoppable.

BALL OF THE DAY

Mohammad Amir’s beautiful, late-swinging inducker that beat Sharma’s inside edge and cannoned into the knee-roll right in front of middle stump was a dream start for Pakistan, prompting a collapse that would see India give up six wickets for just 72.

MOMENT OF THE DAY

Rarely can a no-ball have proved so costly. Pakistan’s openers had yet to get going when Jasprit Bumrah angled an away-swinger across Fakhar, who prodded tamely, the hefty outside edge echoing around the ground. Pakistan were 8-1 in the fourth over, and their dangerman was gone. But as Fakhar turned to leave the scene, the umpires told him to wait, and moments later, the green half of the crowd erupted as the giant screens confirmed Bumrah’s worst fears. The bowler turned on his heels, and Fakhar re-marked his guard.

STAT OF THE DAY

180

The margin for victory is the highest for any team in an ICC tournament final. The previous highest was Australia versus India at the Wanderers in 2003.