Pakistan Slaughter India With 180-Run Victory To Clinch ICC Champions Trophy 2017 

So meak a defeat it was for India. And even by Pakistan’s standards, it was a massive surprise for them and was a staggering story.

Except for Hardik Pandya, who gave the Indian fans some hope with six 6s, everyone including the skipper Virat Kohli failed, and failed miserably. Pandya could only delay the inevitable. His wicket effectively ended the Indian challenge and it was only a matter of time before captain Sarfraz Ahmed took the Jasprit Bumrah’s catch and Pakistan were off. India had to chase down 339 and fell short by 180 runs.

The last wicket was taken by Hassan as Bumrah bounced out at India's 158 after posting an impressive 338 for 4 wickets. Pakistan’s players all got to their knees in celebration. They started the tournament as an egregious shambles; they ended it by slaughtering the hosts and the holders, who also happened to be England and India. They proved that they will remain the most interesting team in the world of cricket.

As Mike Atherton says on Sky, there are some brilliant individual stories to go with the collective triumph: Fakhar, who hadn’t played an ODI before this tournament, Mohammad Amir, Shadab Khan, Hassan Ali, Sarfraz; even Mohammad Hafeez’s death-hitting today.

Amir’s new-ball spell was staggeringly good. His dismissal of Kohli wasn’t just the champagne moment of the tournament, it was the Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon Charles & Diana 1961 moment.

The celebrations were actually quite muted - maybe it was disbelief, maybe they’ve surprised even themselves. The manner and margin of their victories over England and India - after limping through the group stages - was staggering.