The final of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was played on 18 June 2017 between Pakistan and India at The Oval in London, to determine the winner of the eighth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy.[1] Pakistan qualified for the final by defeating the hosts England convincingly by 8 wickets in the first semi-final at Cardiff in Wales on 14 June, and reached their maiden Champions Trophy final.[2] India, the defending champions, came into the final by defeating Bangladesh with ease by 9 wickets in the second semi-final at Birmingham on 15 June, to reach their fourth Champions Trophy final, a record.[3]
Pakistan won by 180 runs, which was the largest margin of victory in the final of an ICC ODI tournament.[4][5][6] Pakistan, who were underdogs entering as the lowest-ranked team in the competition,[7] became the seventh nation to win the Champions Trophy, and it was their first ICC ODI tournament title since the 1992 World Cup, as well as their latest ICC title in any format since the 2009 World Twenty20. Fakhar Zaman of Pakistan received the Man of the Match award for scoring 114.[8] Shikhar Dhawan of India received the Golden Bat award for scoring 338 runs in the tournament[9] while Hasan Ali of Pakistan received the Golden Ball award for taking 13 wickets; he was also adjudged the Man of the Series.[10]
The match is estimated to have been watched by 400 million viewers, becoming the third most-watched game in cricketing history.[11]
Background
See also: India–Pakistan cricket rivalry
Pakistan and India share a historical rivalry in cricket. Prior to this match, the two sides had played 128 times against each other in ODIs, where Pakistan won 72 matches, India won 52 matches and four matches ended with no result.[12] While Pakistan have had the upper hand bilaterally, India enjoyed an edge in global ICC tournaments where they won 13 times against Pakistan, and Pakistan won twice against India.[13] The two sides met only twice before in the finals of global tournaments: the non-ICC World Championship of Cricket Final in 1985 and the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 Final, both won by India.[13]
Prior to this match, the teams had met four times in the Champions Trophy and had two victories each. Pakistan's last win was in 2009; since then, India won seven games against Pakistan across all ICC tournaments consecutively although India lost the home series in 2012[13] Their most recent clash was on 4 June 2017, during the group stages of the ongoing Champions Trophy where India won by 124 runs (D/L method).[14] Much of the pre-match analysis envisioned a strong contest between India's batting lineup and Pakistan's bowling side, both of which were considered the strengths of their respective teams and remained formidable in this tournament.[13]
Road to the final
Further information: 2017 ICC Champions Trophy § Group B
Pakistan
Ranked eighth in the ICC ODI Championship at the start of the tournament, Pakistan started poorly, before improving progressively in each game. They lost to India in the first game by 124 runs in a sloppy display,[15] but then defeated top-ranked South Africa by 19 runs by virtue of Duckworth–Lewis method in their next game.[16] They gained momentum and beat Sri Lanka by 3 wickets in their final group game, a thrilling must-win encounter, and qualified for the semi-finals placed second in Group B, behind India on net run rate.[17] In the semi-final, England with their undefeated run and home advantage were tipped firm favourites. However, they were outplayed by Pakistan with both bat and ball, the latter winning comprehensively by 8 wickets with almost 13 overs to spare. This paved the road for Pakistan's first qualification to a Champions Trophy final.[18]
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