Champion Bloggers on the Champion’s Finale at the Oval

ESPNcricinfo, 19 June 2017

 

• CRICFAN72132427 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 14:35 GMT

  Listen if you bowl a no ball it’s a no ball ok get that in your heads plus where is the luck in cleaning you up for 158 eh we got all wickets as clean as they get,if it’s jadeja’s fault it’s not luck it’s his fault get it right.If you bowled well after the no ball to Fakhar maybe you would have got him but in real fact you were obliviated by the better team on the day

• NABEELAHMED ON JUNE 19, 2017, 14:30 GMT

  It is pakistan’s 8th win in final against india compare to two. This win is a history and will hurt indian fans for years to come… Pak lost to india by 5 runs in world t20 final courtesy of misbah’s wrong execution of shot but he showed bravery character and demolished Harbhajan showed great fight didn’t give up but this final pak beat india comprehensively by 180 runs. Aamir will have psychological effect on indian batsmen for years to come though many indians will disagree but it’s reality. I don’t know why cricketer like Sanjay Manjreker always argue for indian win yesterday he was suggesting india would chase it with 4 overs to spare,meanwhile Michael slater and shane warne were laughing cz they knew pakistan’s bowling they can get swing on any wicket this is for you sanjay india bowled out in 30.4 overs 20 overs remain chase again 180 in 20 overs even they would not do it again.

• CRICFAN09356983 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 14:18 GMT

  flying too high is always dangerous

• CRICFAN56623542 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 13:58 GMT

  Pak is not and will not ever be the best side in the world to put in some way they were very lucky yesterday

• HARSHER ON JUNE 19, 2017, 13:34 GMT

  Well well,big 3 big 4 big nothing,big zero.I never believed the scoring system. What these so called “bigs” are doing is being very very good is making their own home grounds better suited for their teams than others are. They have big 4 ground staff and thats all that is to it people. There maybe some talent yes but the point difference was never justified. And @THATSUNNYDAY: you seem to be living the big 4 lie. You are talking about making players superstars?? Are you forgetting how indian player make theirs superstars. My god, there are cricket games named virat koli so please dont say pakistan is making its players superstars. The ads, the overcompensated cries about how indian team is the best..well it is not. best at ground staff,all 4 of them. money makes ground gud and big 4 have ton of em. The reality…the over publicized and crowed team india got under pressure because they are considered Gods and pakistan played beautifully. People like THATSUNNYDAY will never accept that.

• WILLSRUSTYNUTS ON JUNE 19, 2017, 12:28 GMT

  You have to love Pakistan cricket. Wonderful.

• RUESTER ON JUNE 19, 2017, 12:01 GMT

  Well done Pakistan, I posted after their first game, how Pakistan makes me chortle watching them play cricket with such ineptitude. Yesterdays performance is why non Pakistani cricket lovers like me enjoy watching Pakistan so much. Absolutely fabulous performances in the semi and final. Totally out played England and India, well deserved victory. Enjoy this win Pakistan, the cricket world celebrates your success.

• CRICFAN80701714 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 11:52 GMT

  OMG! Just 1 win in past -I forgot how many years never won against India Big hype. This is not a world cup. Yesterday was Pakistan day FIrst game of the match was Indias day.

• SANTHOSHNAIR ON JUNE 19, 2017, 11:51 GMT

  There was nothing wrong with Kohli’s decision to bowl first as he absolutely believed his ability of chasing targets along with his strong batting partners. However, final is always pressure game, and ofcourse if its arch rivals then the pressure will be much more. Pakistan bowlers did well to restrict India and were successfull in that. Congratulations to Pakistan for a glorious victory!! and also congrats India for reaching finals of CL17.

• ZEROKALVIN ON JUNE 19, 2017, 11:48 GMT

  The ODI rankings coming into the tournament are as follows SA, AUS, IN, ENG, NZ, BAN, SL, and PAK. Pakistan beat 1, 3, 4, and 8 on their way to Cup. Pakistan’s bowling produced 4 great performances on the trot, by any stretch of the imagination that cannot be attributed to luck. Can Pakistan’s batting perform like they did in the last 2 games CT? Probably not, but our batting has lacked consistency in ODIs since the late 90s and its Pakistan’s bowling that has won matches. Pakistan’s bowling has been on the ‘decline’ because of the new rules introduced into the game, some of their best bowlers being banned for one reason or another. The number of bowlers utilized by Pakistan over the past year indicates that the talent is there, but they are only given a few matches to prove their worth and players like Wahab and others are given underserving chances

• UGLYINDIAN ON JUNE 19, 2017, 11:41 GMT

  @THATSUNNYDAY: A question to you: If the definition of a ‘good’ result is that it is repeatable, then why could India not repeat their performance of beating Pakistan as they did in the first game? If India is as good as you imagine it to be, then why did India lose to Sri Lanka as well? After the first game, Pakistan didn’t let any team score more than 236 runs. After the first game, India conceded the 2 highest totals of the tournament. Sounds to me like, that it is India that got to the final by fluke, than the other way around. Now you tell me, which team’s ‘good’ performance was repeated more often?

• ZAMANA ON JUNE 19, 2017, 11:38 GMT

  Absolutely brilliant analysis. As brilliant as Pakistan and the game they played! It was an inspired performance . Thank you India for helping make them immortal. They will become more dominant as a team and can be potential contenders for the World Cup 2019. I am planning it already!

• LIKEINTCRICKET ON JUNE 19, 2017, 11:37 GMT

  Also continuing from my comment earlier. India upset WI in 1983 and Srilanka won it 1996 when no one gave them any serious chance but fans still loved that moment and talk about it with passion. That actually paved the way for great generation of players from these countries. This current moment belongs to Pakistan and they fully deserve.

• THATSUNNYDAY ON JUNE 19, 2017, 11:13 GMT

  @LIKEINTCRICKET: I’ll say this again. I have no qualms about them winning the trophy. They richly deserved to win. What I have reservations against is people going overboard and dubbing them a strong side. 1983 WC was won by India but they were a scratchy side at best. Nowhere near WI or Aus of the time. Trophies don’t always go to the strongest team and that’s all there was to it. I hope this win does more for grassroots cricket in their country, rather than usual turning of players into superstars. sadly this didn’t happen in WI after so many T20 titles.

•   CRICINFOUSER ON JUNE 19, 2017, 11:10 GMT

  Great writing worthy of an absolutely stunning performance. So much talent in Pakistan that if selectors would just select impartially and keep non performers like Shahzad and Riaz out the team will rise in the rankings. But great credit of course to Micky Arthur behind the scenes and the aggression, passion and leadership of sarfaraz to bring the best out of the team. Fantastically done!

• LIKEINTCRICKET ON JUNE 19, 2017, 10:29 GMT

  @THATSUNNYDAY, that’s coming from your heart buddy. Pakistan has produced a performance worthy of a champion. I actually don’t like the article the way it is written. Pakistan has actually simply outclassed the best of the sides in last four matches. This is despite so many factors against them in last 10 years. Before 2003 it was a norm to beat well oiled machines by Pakistan. At one time Pakistan beat India 5 out of 6 ODI in India. That’s how they got to 72 wins against India. That is the talent Pakistan produced and same is true with West Indies also. That’s why these well oiled machines has at least one representative from Pakistan in the form of Rashid, Imran Tahir or us man khawaja. Yes, I wasn’t expecting this performance from them but I know the talent they have they can repeat this anytime. The interest this win generates in Pakistan will produced great future players. The excitement these sides WI and Pak brings to cricket is great.

• ANSWERTOYOU ON JUNE 19, 2017, 10:28 GMT

  Very well written, Congrats Jarrod. Jarrod is talking about a game of cricket so please don’t turn it into hatred. Simply India and Pakistan need to play more often.

• NISHANS32 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 10:12 GMT

  @THATSUNNYDAY… pls re-read your comment and see how condesending it is.

  You say that you take nothing from the winners and you do take away everything from them. In a knochkout tournament, the best team rarely wins. Pls correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t the team that peaks at the right time wins most of the time? Not just in cricket but in a lot of other sports. If the best team should win, shouldn’t the all blacks have won more rugby world cups and Brazil more football world cups?

  You mentioned that Eng Ind and SA as well oiled machines.. Eng ..seriously? Their resurgence was only after the thrashing in the last world cup. They were the favourites, yet, failed to win at home. What have they won anyway? SA? no comments … India are a very good side but they were beaten well. Kohli won the toss and invited Pak to bat.

  Be happy for them. Yes, they are not perfect but they did the job.

  On a final note congrats to all pakistani supporters.

  From a Srilankan supporter

• CRICFAN5992533802 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 10:10 GMT

  A big well done to Mickey Arthur and Azhar Mahmood. Yes, the players must get credit of course, but you cannot give the coaching staff a hiding when the team is failing and then not credit them when they win a trophy. Even the players themselves credited the coaching staff.

•   HAROON ARSHAD DAR ON JUNE 19, 2017, 10:06 GMT

  Luck luck luck. Get over it Indians luck could go either way, just don’t blame luck because Bumrah overstepped and Zaman made you pay. Kohli got a lifeline and got dismissed next delivery. Luck is the least you can say changed the game today because it was the best bowling line-up in full flow, no freebies, no messing around, no Wahab-treats, no jokes. Indian media anchors, a former Bollywood actor, a former Indian cricketer, a third class Indian comedian calling out Pakistanis openly on social media, wahga border, tv shows, live streaming all deserve a big thanks from Pakistani nation to help us motivate to beat the hell out of an arrogance-filled bubble of Indian Cricket 🙂

• CRICFAN7928560468 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 9:59 GMT

  “The flower that blossoms in adversity is the most rare and the most beautiful of them all. You don’t find such a team in every dynasty” Quote from the movie ” Mulan” extrapolated to this tournament.

• CRICFAN27429407 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 9:59 GMT

  Well done pakistan and your fans congratulations,,hey,, How good did kohli play under pressure again…silence…. bugs chirping..

• KAMANIPARAG ON JUNE 19, 2017, 9:57 GMT

  India’s capitulation to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy finals reminded me of India’s debut World Cup performance in 1975 when Indian played England, where England scored 334-4 [in comparison, Pakistan scored 338-4] with opener Dennis Amiss scoring 137 off 147 balls [Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman scored 114 off 142], with India replying to England’s total with 132-3 [158 against Pakistan], losing by a margin of 202 runs whereas, against Pakistan, the margin of defeat was a comparatively less embarrassing 180 runs. The significant difference also being that, against Pakistan, none of the Indian openers could play through Pakistan’s outstanding bowling but, against England, Sunil “Sunny” Gavaskar crawled his way through the innings with 36 not out off 174 balls!

• KEVINFERNANDES ON JUNE 19, 2017, 9:49 GMT

  @THATSUNNYDAY: yeah maybe Pakistan cant beat SA, Eng or India twice but they sure have beaten all 3 within a 10 day time period. Also, lets give this team the next one year and see how it goes.

• NURAIZ ON JUNE 19, 2017, 9:42 GMT

  It was an ECLIPSE that occurred in 70 years! An Indopak ICC Final! And Amir Shone In ULTA-RED form for the earthlings to see!

• GSRAYUDU ON JUNE 19, 2017, 9:23 GMT

  where are all these critics when India trashed pak in group stage

• ZAYANKHAN3914 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 9:19 GMT

  What a victory, What a day for pakistani fans, I am a great fan of Pakistan cricket and this victory bring a lot of joy. My 2 and a half year son started celebrations well before the last wicket fell. He took me out to blow Sparkles (Phuljhari) and then celebrations starts every where. Every one might took out the stock of their crackers that they could not blow out since 1992. What a tournament for Pakistan team. I pray this Champions trophy would be the game changer for Pakistan team, and they fight like this in future games.

•   KHURRAM S CHAUDHRY ON JUNE 19, 2017, 9:19 GMT

  Well written. The best thing about this win is that they played like a team. Almost every one chipped in at some stage of the tournament. You wont see many high scores from batsmen or many 5 wickets haul but a collective effort. Fakhar was superb. He was well supoorted by Azhar Ali at top. Babar has few little innings, Sarfraz played a crucial one. Hafeez wasnt good early on but in final played well. Only Malik was the one who failed. That is where Pak will need to look at. Role of Hafeez, Malik in this team. Azhar also falls in this category but he scored runs. and he showed signs of improvements. Questions on Imaad Wasims performance as well. In bowling, Hassan was awesome. Well supported by Junaid, Amir and Shadab. Even Rauman and Fahim did well who played only 1 game. Credit to Wahab and Ahmed for failing. Otherwise they would have still played.

• CRICFAN44810102 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 8:53 GMT

  What a team India had no chance

• CRICFAN0438311572 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 8:45 GMT

  Sarfraz Ahmed has the potential to be the most successful Pakistani captain of all time. His mental endurance has been commendable throughout this tournament. He has led from the front, never gave up on his young players. All the best Pakistan …….. we have witnessed the revival of Pakistan cricket

• THATSUNNYDAY ON JUNE 19, 2017, 8:38 GMT

  Nothing to take away from the winners. Congratulations. However, I fail to see this team reaching heights higher than this one. The basic definition of a good result is that it has to be repeatable. This team can’t beat SA, Eng or India twice, let alone repeatedly, as long as it’s not their lucky day. Them having reached finals was just as freakish as BD reaching semis. while appreciating the good work of this team, it’s Important not to get carried away. Aus, India, Eng and SA are well oiled machines. Pak is merely a prototype as of now. Give them time and if at all they become true world beaters, publish more lofty articles.

• CRICFAN6612004335 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 8:35 GMT

  Wow,how could you describe much better than what u had in this report.I’m speechless nothing 2 add anything else than this. U rocks Team”pakistan”

• KIWIROCKER- ON JUNE 19, 2017, 8:32 GMT

  Javed Miandad’s last ball six was not a cricketing blow but instead it stuck a psychological blow for Indians as after that India went on to lose against Pakistan in India (6-1 series loss in India in 1986), in Toronto, in Australia and practically anywhere they played against Pakistan. India however did continue winning in ICC tournaments. It should be noted that Pakistan did beat India in a mini world cup named Nehru cup in 1989. The tide turned in 2004 when India won in Pakistan and for last 10 years or so India had a clear edge over Pakistan. This Pakistan win is not a final CT victory but instead a similar psychological blow as to Miandad’s six. Players like Fakhar Zaman, Amir, Hafeez, Hassan and Shadab has scarred Indian psyche and it will not be surprising if Pakistan goes on to complete its dominance over India as they still hold a 52-73 ODi record and a 12-9 test record. As a Pak fan, I had already played this sweet moment of victory several times for several years!

• HAQ33 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 8:29 GMT

  Kimber! You have out-Kimbered yourself yet again.

• HURRICANEHAIDER ON JUNE 19, 2017, 8:24 GMT

  Excellent column Jarrod. Really enjoyed it reading.

• SMALIK20 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 8:23 GMT

  This literally gave me goosebumps. Fantastic! Well fought boys, you made all Pakistan Cricket fans proud out there, made us remember why we loved this team with every ounce of our heart and soul. Keep fighting, only up from here.

• CRICFAN30124514 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 7:53 GMT

  Great tournament by Pakistan. Management and selection committe needs to take some more bold decisions. Muhammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik needs immediate replacements. Azhar Ali needs to keep his strike rate 95+ to keep his place in the squad. We have seen all these three has started feeling heat of brialliant performance by youngsters.

• BEAHUMAN ON JUNE 19, 2017, 7:44 GMT

  SL Pak China and now Nepal too! Jealous neighbors can’t speak for themselves. So to avoid this India and Pak should work together. Make kashmir part of both countries and use both armies to keep out terrorists. Yes politicians of both countries will lose. Money must be shared. Or simply seal all borders after a give and take. Keep China away.

  Cricket will be then played. And there will be no need for support from SL or Nepal for Pak.

  India will support you. But this is idealism. It won’t happen. It can be done but people who matter won’t allow it. Sad reality. Cricinfo please publish.

• CRICFAN30124514 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 7:21 GMT

  Jarrod…..a wonderfull article. One of the best articles i have gone through on espncricinfo.

• CRICFAN46569388 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 7:19 GMT

  A marvellous piece of writing… enjoyed every bit of it…

• CHUCKINGBAJANMAKEMEPURGE ON JUNE 19, 2017, 6:57 GMT

  Congratz Pakistan – “Pakistan have performed miracles just to get this far, in this game, and this tournament”. If not for the miracle Thisara Perera would have held that catch. If not for the miracle mighty England would have won the match. If not for the miracle India would have won the match. India is so strong if compared man to man against Pakistan.

• CRICFAN3169245201 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 6:39 GMT

  This is a brilliantly written … loved it…

• CRICFAN8447885173 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 6:21 GMT

  We newer expect a one side game from indian side, It was just a bad day for indian cricket team, But credit gose to pakistan Cricket team as they play specialy Fakar Zaman a special talent because pakistan suffer for a good opener. Now they need to change Shoaib Malik and Mo. Hafeej and it will be a promising team of young players for future. Hasan Ali and Fakar Zaman a future talent found for pakistan cricket.

• CHHEENAH ON JUNE 19, 2017, 6:09 GMT

  We are the Best in World cricket.

• ROBERTBARATHEON ON JUNE 19, 2017, 5:39 GMT

  There is massive criticism on display over the decision to bat first.Well, for the record teams have won finals bowling first.South Africa did it 1998 CT, SriLanka in 1996 WC, Australia in 1999 WC and India itself in 2011 WC.Also, what if India had lost the toss?The point is to justify the decision through execution.Bumrah’s erratic first over basically reflected the team’s mental state.Only Bhuvi, Pandya and probably Dhoni were not affected by the condition.Blaming leadership is not fair.One could easily remember similar disasters in 2003 WC final under Ganguly(probably the best bowling attack India ever had) and more recently in 2015 WC semi final under Dhoni.Willingly or otherwise, after a side bowls first in a game, final or not, the most important thing is resolve- resolve to bowl tight , resolve to stay alert in field and resolve to keep fighting till the last ball is bowled.If the resolve is ironclad, things like a wicket on a no ball should be a pebble thrown to a river

• DIRI ON JUNE 19, 2017, 5:13 GMT

  Well done Pakistan .really happy for you…..your performances in this tournament have been really entertaining . From South Africa

• PRANAVS2492 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 5:10 GMT

  Fakhar Zaman- The next Saeed Anwar Shadab Khan- The next Abdul Qadir

  Rising talents that can emulate the greats. Love from India!

• CRICINFOUSER ON JUNE 19, 2017, 5:01 GMT

  @joebygeorge..dhoni shouldnt be in the team let alone capataining until 2019. He has no technique and is always struggling to rotate strike

• JOEBYGEORGE ON JUNE 19, 2017, 4:50 GMT

  Wrong decision by Kohli to bat first. In a game like CT final, pressure will be obvious on the team chasing. I believe even if India batting and first makes a 250-280 , India could defended that total. Chasing 230-240 against SL, Pakistan got through because of the dropped catches.

  Secondly, Shami should have been played ahead of Ashwin or Jadeja. It is true that Jadeja is a great fielder who saves plenty of runs. But being an all rounder what was his contribution in this tournament other than being a good fielder?

  Still believe that Dhoni was the right one to captain India until 2019 WC.

•   USMAN A KHAN TAHIR ON JUNE 19, 2017, 4:36 GMT

  Jarrod is an amazing writer. This article was so well crafted and enjoyable. The slick humour and sarcasm are just brilliant!

• CRICFAN01835720 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 4:35 GMT

  Pakistan Zindabaad, what a performance, what a tournament. We went from no hopers to Champions!! Take bow lads!!

• SASJADS ON JUNE 19, 2017, 4:33 GMT

  another master pirce from Jarrod…..ur articles make the victory even sweeter

• CRICFAN1917576078 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 4:33 GMT

  Congratz Pakistan. This win is a joint efforts of each member. . But this is not enough!! there is a lot more to work in it. 1st, there is still lacking the ability to rotate the strikes, still too many dot balls. They have to improve this and focus on slightly hitting straight strokes with power so it can pass the spinner and short mid wicket and short off fielders. At least 25-35 runs were stopped by these fielder cuz of lack of power. Second, the depth hard hitter like razzaq and moin used to play absolutely necessary. Pak used to strike hard in last 5-6 overs but yesterday they barely posed a threats. 3rd, Oh bowlers…as usual old habbit die hard, they are bound to throw one or two balls out of the line for easy hits.

•   MUHAMMAD AMJAD ON JUNE 19, 2017, 4:31 GMT

  I waited this moment for a long time and it is stunning one.. You just rattled opposition in an outclass way. Best bowling side dominated in bowling and batting against best batting side. There was no stop after defeating Home favourites England.. Well played openers and Bowlers.. Keep going .. Love my team #Pakistan … Congregations

• OLIVER2473 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 4:11 GMT

  So Rohit Sharma will still say that Bumrah is way better than average M.Aamir, well the average bowler got you thrice in 4 games, hows that. And 1 thing more, A Pakistani victory without J.KIMBER Masterpiece is not a win at all, Love your articles

• SUBHA_KUMPATY ON JUNE 19, 2017, 2:58 GMT

  The only thing Kohli did right today was winning the toss. Kohli and company could have batted Pakistan out of the match by batting first. Put up 300, it could have rattled Pakistan. Instead Kohi chose to bowl first and on a good wicket, Pakistan could not be stopped (well no balls let India down). It was like Ricky Ponting batting India out of the ICC final in the past. Pakistan’s magical touch continued throughout the tournament. When Pakistan ousted the strong England batting unit, it should have alerted Kohli to give a serious thought to plan differently than deciding to bowl. Now it is a history that India suffered the greatest defeat in an ICC Final.

• BAATASARI ON JUNE 19, 2017, 2:51 GMT

  Congrats Pakistan.. played like true champions when it mattered the most..

• MS.CRICKET ON JUNE 19, 2017, 2:47 GMT

  The Indian team is the team Dhoni built. None of the XI had made their debut under Kohli! India’s mistakes were picking an unfit Ashwin over Umesh Yadav who had taken 3-30 against Pakistan two weeks earlier. Favouritism for a final? Though Kumble had ended that! The other was bowling first after winning the toss – in a final, always bat first, see how Mumbai Indians backed themselves batting first last month despite their superior record batting second. Pakistan deserved to win and the absence of Wahab Riaz was a blessing as the rest bowled beautifully and the batting effort was awesome.

• R.A.B ON JUNE 19, 2017, 2:37 GMT

  Congrats to Pak for winning champions trophy and Congrats to India for winning 7-1 in hockey world league.

• YALEUNI ON JUNE 19, 2017, 1:36 GMT

  Before the match opponent fans were asking more competitive match from Pakistan. At the end, it again ended as one sided match. We all know who are in the receiving side now.

• GENTLEMAN’S GAME ON JUNE 19, 2017, 1:25 GMT

  As an Indian fan, I would like to congratulate the Pakistan team. You are the deserved winners! You didn’t win the CT due to luck (rain) or fluke, but only through your mafnificiant performance. Beating powerful India was no mean feat, but you excelled in all departments. Congratulations.

• MUSTAFA53 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 0:15 GMT

  Too good to read and enjoy! Excellent Jarrod

•   TOUSEEF AWAN ON JUNE 19, 2017, 0:13 GMT

  Jarrod Kimber you made this victory more sweater. thank you.

• LOVE-PAK ON JUNE 19, 2017, 0:11 GMT

  It was written on the wall but people could not see it. My friend Jarrod,as I have mentioned in my last few posts, the way Pakistani team demolished S.A. and England it was so obvious and just matter of time to meet and defeat India in the final. It didn’t need any rocket science to understand this phenomenon called ” Up Roaring” Pakistani team has transformed into under brilliant captaincy of Sarfraz with combination of very talented young players and some experienced players. I have said in my yesterday’s post before game started that No matter what, Pakistan gonna win and Allhamadulillah Pakistan has won the championship trophy. I also said that world will see the Rising sun of this different and brilliant Pakistani cricket team and world has witnessed it today. Congratulations to All Pakistani all around the world. Hearts goes out to Pakistan’s team,the Champion.

• JUGG3RNAUT47 ON JUNE 19, 2017, 0:10 GMT

  Beautifully written, A typical Jarrod Kimber Masterpiece, two thumbs up.

•   KORNEEZ ON JUNE 19, 2017, 0:04 GMT

  Amir has turned a full circle, so have the Pakistan team. Extremely proud to be a Pakistani today. Fantastic article Mr.Kimber !

• HALLIAN1995 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 23:49 GMT

  What an article man .. what an imagination you have ..

• CRICINFOUSER ON JUNE 18, 2017, 23:06 GMT

  It may be time for India to bring more youth into the team. Finals of a tournament was the time, the veterans in the team (Dhoni and Yuvraj) should have risen to the occasion. May be it is time to say goodbye to these two stalwarts.

•   CRICINFOUSER ON JUNE 18, 2017, 22:58 GMT

  Well well well who whould have imagined that. Congratulations to Pakistan and all cricket lovers. To all my Indian brothers you really played well, it was our day but we still believe that you have a much superior team than ours it was just a bad day for you guys.

  Honeslty speaking we badly needed this win in order to revive our cricket. Hopefully this will leads us to build a more competitive team in near future hence we will be getting more nail bitters that will please Indian, Pakistani and all cricket lovers. A Pak fan!

• HEART-OUT! ON JUNE 18, 2017, 22:58 GMT

  Kimber come on!! You are due with much more than this article with Pakistan…. I/we wanna read more of you on this journey like tournament and remember this is your favorite loosing side so awaiting your master piece…not this inspid article come on you can do better….. than this and we deserve more than this …..

• CRICFAN8330680251 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 22:56 GMT

  Well done pakistan. I am aussie and i am truly happy for your team, country and people. Well deserved victory by absolutely outplaying all that stand in your way. You’d have to have been living under a rock for the last 20 years to not realise how much your country and its people deserve this victory. Well done and enjoy!

• SERGIOU ON JUNE 18, 2017, 22:33 GMT

  We are lucky to be alive in an era where Jarrod Kimber writes for Pakistan cricket. Knighthood for this great writer please or at least Pulitzer Prize. Thank you Mr. Kimber.

• MONTASIM BILLAH ON JUNE 18, 2017, 22:33 GMT

  Magnificent writing by Jerrad. The article is as thrilling as Pskistan’s journey to be Champion. It’s awesome to read and feel the excitement.

• SHABBY1664 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 22:28 GMT

  What an article. Awesome analysis and very nicely drafted. Loved it buddy.

• CRICFAN1477153721 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 22:27 GMT

  Poor fellow JK, still finding it hard to pour out a few words of praise for Pakistani bowlers !!

•   ESPN11559111 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 22:26 GMT

  This tournament proved odi rankings doesn’t equate to winning championships….we wil take championship wins any day over rankings

• CRICFAN1673808286 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 21:59 GMT

  This will be my first comment on cricinfo and its all because of this article. I had to sign up and take the risk of sharing my personal info to be stored on one more server just to say this. Wow! What a fantastically humorous and brilliantly written article. Made me chuckle several times. Good work!

• MAK123 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 21:58 GMT

  Never seen these kind match reviews for a long time now. Screamers. Love them. But then the match and how Pakistan played it won these rare reviews. Should go down in the history of Cricket as one of the top 3 classics.

• DOWITE77 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 21:50 GMT

  Terrific article Jarrod. Loved the writing style. The flair with which you write is only matched by the flair of Pakistan’s play today. And what a play. An absolute demolition job by them! Thank you, both!

•   CRICFAN45281501 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 21:49 GMT

  great articlem, made up for all the genuine and true comments regarding prediction of pakistan performance prior to each game, well they did not help much too :p

• FEZ01 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 21:45 GMT

  Brilliantly written, just like your last article !

• MASOOM MALIK ON JUNE 18, 2017, 21:37 GMT

  Well done Sarfraz. We have 92 World Cup, T-20 Cup and now Champion of 2017. Well done Pakistan. There is no International cricket in Pakistan for a long time but we still are still producing the top quality players.

• BANGGUYRAJ ON JUNE 18, 2017, 21:32 GMT

  India, the beauty, sure won our heart today!

• FOURSANDSIXES ON JUNE 18, 2017, 21:24 GMT

  The no ball seaed the fate – luck waa on Pak side from there. Bound to happen at some time after consistently losing to India in ICC tournaments the past decade

• FOGU ON JUNE 18, 2017, 21:22 GMT

  Cricfan420 – if IN had won, the team would have been perfect. Truth is, IN ran into a riled up PK. The only mistake Kohli did was to put PK in. I dont know how Amir, Junaid and Hasan got so much out of the pitch but it was an amazing display of fast bowling. PK took the match and I don’t think any team was going to match up today.

• YOGESHWAR KARERA ON JUNE 18, 2017, 20:51 GMT

  Jarrod Kimber, I hope you are reading the comment section. Just wanna say that you write the most beautiful cricketing articles. This comes from a Pakistani fan on a special day, you document the cricketing emotion better than anyone can. Thank you.

• NGINEER ON JUNE 18, 2017, 20:51 GMT

  What a match….a remarkable victory……from a team….nobody counting on…..emerge from nowhere…..beat the world beaters…..in quite succsission…england put everything on the pitch…actually they didnt realize this is some other pakistan team….india came to the final…laughing in hearts…this is another trophey in hands….which is given to us without any competition….but they were unaware there is some serious team against us….well done pakistan….i am really proud of u today…

• CRICFAN8735886891 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 20:32 GMT

  Very nice post ….. ……………………

• CRICFAN2882215223 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 20:31 GMT

  And Jarrod is flying with them… as always!

•   SYED RAZA MOHSIN ON JUNE 18, 2017, 20:28 GMT

  I think Mohammad Amir just surpassed the 3 wickets of wasim akram in the 1992 final, in both effectiveness and arguably in quality.

• CRICFAN02215601 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 20:28 GMT

  He was extremely lucky, caught behind , couple of no man’s land catch, couple of run out chance..errr

• CRICFAN2742816053 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 20:21 GMT

  Congratulations Pakistan! On Pakistan’s day the opposition should just save the time and hard work just by declaring the defeat. When the lion catches its prey, it knows there’s no way out of this! Hell yeah!

• ASIMRAFIQUE ON JUNE 18, 2017, 20:19 GMT

  Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal brothers thanks for your awesome,Superb support. Some are saying selecting Ashwin and Jadeja was a big mistake but Pakistan also made a mistake of selecting Imad Waseem instead of Rumman Raees. No doubt Pandya played with passion but give credit to Sarfraz who allow India to cross 100 and Pandya to score by taking his all strike bowlers back. India is a very good side but today wasn’t their day. Pakistan Zindabad

• CRICFAN8619326708 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 20:17 GMT

  This is must read article…How u do it every time?

• ASIMRAFIQUE ON JUNE 18, 2017, 20:15 GMT

  Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal brothers thanks for your awesome,Superb support. Some are saying selecting Ashwin and Jadeja was a big mistake but Pakistan also made a mistake of selecting Imad Waseem instead of Rumman Raees. No doubt Pandya played with passion but give credit to Sarfraz who allow India to cross 100 and Pandya to score by taking his all strike bowlers back. India is a very good side but today wasn’t their day. Pakistan Zindabad

• ASIMRAFIQUE ON JUNE 18, 2017, 20:11 GMT

  Some are saying selecting Ashwin and Jadeja was a big mistake but Pakistan also made a mistake of selecting Imad Waseem instead of Rumman Raees. No doubt Pandya played with passion but give credit to Sarfraz who allow India to cross 100 and Pandya to score by taking his all strike bowlers back. India is a very good side but today wasn’t their day. Pakistan Zindabad

• ALEXK400 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 20:02 GMT

  Pakistan played fearless cricket and took rishs. They got rewarded and well deserved. Period. Yes it is all because of fakhar zaman. He should get the credit.

• CRICINFOUSER ON JUNE 18, 2017, 20:01 GMT

  wow wow… I can’t get enough from today’s match. i have been glued to tv since the game ended and refreshing my cricinfo app to see if any new write ups have been uploaded. wonderful writing, I must appreciate it. one gem of a match. congratulations to Pakistan….expected a bit of fight from India and they certainly were not them today. But anyways PAKISTAN ZINDABAD

• SCOOBY_007 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 19:42 GMT

  Jarrod counted PK out twice. Before the Eng game, and then again before this game. Now full of accolades. Oh, Jarrod. How the mighty have fallen. Nice to see a 180 turn.

• CRICFAN21182465 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 19:39 GMT

  Pakistan zindabad. I proud to be pakistani. Yasar Riaz

• AHMADSALEEM ON JUNE 18, 2017, 19:38 GMT

  “Jasprit Bumrah starts his fourth over with a wide down the leg side.”

  It was Bumrah’s second and innings’ fourth over.

• CRICFAN7928560468 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 19:35 GMT

  Hats off to Sarfraz the Karate (karachi) Kid- The street fighter. He believes in what John Cena says “Never give up”.

• CRICFAN3352889420 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 19:33 GMT

  INDIA team had three top order batsman. Rest were either aging/bygone or untested. The selectors and captain paid a price for putting a mediocre team together, and the BCCI were gambling by delaying vital team announcement. The chair of selectors and Captain must take full responsibility and tender resignation. Viral is a great batsmAn and should focus on batting. Period. After edging and getting a life, Virat should have walked, taken few deep breaths, relaxed and chatted with Shikar, a basics done to rejuvenate O2 levels. Also, Rahabe should have been in 11. Yuvi, MSD, Ash should retire from ODI, no gusto. Time to bring in players who can stand, stay sf crease and score, like Nair. It sound like only North India played ICC, Ashwin was a misfit and seems like being accommodated. Rebuild now. IPL (20 overs) is not ideal grooming ground and players are not ideal for tough situation like India was, you need those who can slough it out. Good luck India at World Cup and best ahead.

• CRICFAN2658209457 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 19:33 GMT

  What an article. Thank you, Jarrod, you made this win just a little more memorable for me! 🙂

• KARACHIKID64 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 19:27 GMT

  The main point being that Pakistan got their self-belief back and with it most of their swagger. Welcome back Team Green!

•   TAHA PAKISTANI ON JUNE 18, 2017, 19:20 GMT

  You outdo yourself every time, sir. Absolutely Brilliant.

• CRICFAN0187483958 ON JUNE 18, 2017, 19:19 GMT

  Yes yes we are the champions\ud83d\ude0e