Tuesday, 20 June, 2017
SARFRAz nAMed CAPtAIn oF 'teAM oF the ChAMPIonS tRoPhy 2017'
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SpOrtS DeSk
AKISTAN`S skipper Sarfraz Ahmed is named as captain of 'Team of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017' on Monday. The side was selected by a jury of cricket experts, which included former captains Michael Atherton of England, India’s Sourav Ganguly, Ramiz Raja of Pakistan as well as Lawrence Booth (Editor, Wisden Almanack and cricket writer, The Mail) and Julian Guyer (cricket correspondent, Agence France-Presse), with ICC General Manager – Cricket, Geoff Allardice, as chairman. The jury was tasked with picking a balanced side on the basis of performances in the tournament. Statistics were used, but were not the
sole basis for selection. The side includes four Pakistanis, three Indians, three Englishmen and one Bangladeshi, with Kane Williamson of New Zealand as 12th man. Dhawan and Hassan had already won the Golden Bat and Gold Ball trophies for finishing as the most successful batsman and bowler, respec-
ThE ICC ChAmpIoNS Trophy 2017 TEAm IN bATTING ordEr 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12)
Shikhar dhawan (India) (338 runs) Fakhar Zaman (pakistan) 252 runs) Tamim Iqbal (bangladesh) (293 runs) Virat Kohli (India) (258 runs) Joe root (England) (258 runs) ben Stokes (England) (184 runs and three wickets) Sarfraz Ahmed (pakistan) (captain) (wicketkeeper) (76 runs and nine dismissals) Adil rashid (England) (seven wickets) Junaid Khan (pakistan) (eight wickets) bhuvneshwar Kumar (India) (seven wickets) hassan Ali (pakistan) (13 wickets) Kane Williamson (New Zealand (12th) (244 runs)
Pakistan move closer to direct qualification for 2019 World Cup SpOrtS DeSk Pakistan's triumph in the Champions Trophy has pushed them to sixth in the ICC ODI rankings, and closer to direct qualification for the 2019 World Cup in England. Pakistan, who began the tournament placed eighth, gained four points to move past Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, who are now ranked seventh and eighth respectively. Hosts England and the seven highest ranked teams at the cut-off date of September 30, 2017, receive direct qualification for the next World Cup. "We've got two years until the 2019 World Cup," Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur said after beating India in the Champions Trophy final. "We've got the monkey off our back in terms of qualifying. We now have two years to identify a squad we want to take forward and give them enough game time." In the ODI bowlers rankings, Pakistan's Hasan Ali, who took 13 wickets in five games to be named Player of the Champions Trophy, broke into the top 10, leapfrogging 12 of his peers to claim the seventh spot. Batsman Babar Azam moved up three positions to reach a career-high fifth spot in the batting rankings. Babar scored 133 runs in five Champions Trophy games, without a fifty. Fakhar Zaman, who scored two fifties and a hundred in the tournament, was among the top 100 despite playing just four ODIs.
tively, while Tamim was selected after driving Bangladesh to its maiden semi-final in a major ICC event. Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman was picked as Dhawan’s opening partner after he aggregated 252 runs in four matches at a strike-rate of 113, following scores of 31 against South Africa, 50 against Sri Lanka, 57 against England in the semi-final and 114 against India in the final. Joe Root was rewarded for his 258 runs in the tournament, while Ben Stokes was selected as an all-rounder following his aggregate of 184 runs and three wickets. Fast bowlers Junaid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hassan shared 28 wickets between them in the tournament, while wrist-spinner Rashid finished with seven wickets with an economy rate of 4.73. Sarfraz was chosen as the captain following his inspirational lead-
ership during the 18-day tournament that was the cornerstone of his team’s 180-run victory over India in front of a full house. Pakistan had started disastrously when it suffered a 124-run thrashing at the hands of India, before it bounced back to defeat South Africa by 19 runs, Sri Lanka by three wickets and England in the semi-final by eight wickets. Fast bowlers Junaid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hassan shared 28 wickets between them in the tournament. Sarfraz also won the Player of the Match award in the match against Sri Lanka when Pakistan, chasing 237 runs for victory, had slipped from 74 for one to 162 for seven. Sarfraz, who came out to bat at number six with the scoreboard reading 110 for four, returned unbeaten on 61 from 79 balls with five fours. Pakistan had entered the tournament ranked eighth on the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings, but courtesy its victories against higherranked sides, finished in sixth place, which means it now looks well set to qualify automatically for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. “To be appointed as captain of the Team of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, which includes some of the finest and most attractive cricketers of this generation, is the perfect icing on the cake,” remarked Sarfraz.
Pakistan played perfect game in CT win: Adam Gilchrist SpOrtS DeSk Australian cricketing legend Adam Gilchrist on Monday credited Pakistan's adaptability and perseverance in the face of domestic challenges as key to their rout of favourites India in the Champions Trophy. Pakistan, once a cricketing powerhouse, has watched its world ranking slide as top teams have refused to tour the conflict-prone country, forcing the home side to play all international matches abroad. Only Zimbabwe have visited Pakistan since a 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore which prompted all other major teams to call off tours. Pakistan entered the eight-team Champions Trophy in England and Wales ranked dead last, but upset arch-rivals India with a 180-run thrashing in Sunday's final. "Deep in your heart, as a cricket lover, you can't be disappointed to see a nation like that (win). We all know their struggles of not getting any international cricket back home," Gilchrist told reporters in New Delhi. "They are basically a nomadic team which plays abroad. Perhaps because of that, they were able to adjust well in those conditions." It was Pakistan's first international 50-over trophy since winning the 1992 World Cup. Gilchrist compared their against-the-odds win to the West Indies' victory over England in the World Twenty20 final in 2016, despite troubles plaguing their cricket board at home. "The only predictable thing about Pakistan cricket is that they are unpredictable," said the for-
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RAMIz onLy CoMMentAtoR to PRedICt PAk-IndIA FInAL, gReen ShIRtS vICtoRy LAHORE: Pakistan former cricket captain, Ramiz Raja who was part of the 15-man star-studded line-up of TV commentators for the Champions Trophy was the only commentator who predicted Pak-India final, with green shirts clinching the title of the mega event. Ramiz was among the top notch commentators, including Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Graeme Smith, Brendon McCullum, Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Sourav Ganguly, Sanjay Manjrekar, Shaun Pollock, Michael Slater, Ian Bishop, Shane Warne and Athar Ali Khan, who gave their thoughtful and entertaining comments during the matches of the Champions Trophy. In the pretournament predictions, a majority of the commentators rated India and England as the favourites to qualify for the final with the English side favourite to win the title. Interestingly, Ramiz was the only commentator who said that Pakistan and India will play the final and green shirts will lift the title. No other commentator came up with that thought or a prediction as Pakistan being the number eight ranked team in the world started the tournament as ‘underdogs’. Things turned from bad to worse when Pakistan lost the inaugural match to India. “I had a strong conviction deep inside me that no matter what happens Pakistan will meet India in the final and they will win the title”, Ramiz told this agency on Monday. “It was good to see that my prediction did not go wrong and our team won the title in a style, chalking out a victory which widely endorses the claim that this team is in the process of making”, he said. He expressed his delight on Pakistan’s victory in the final and described it a memorable show of collective efforts and teamwork. “Sarfraz Ahmad duly justified the role of captain and throughout the tournament he handled the team in a professional manner, proving himself a big inspiration for the team”, the former captain said. App
zAheeR AbbAS CRedItS youngSteRS FoR beCoMIng ChAMPIonS
mer wicketkeeper-batsman, adding the win was a "positive story" for cricket. "Pakistan played what seems to be a perfect game of cricket. India, after a very impressive tournament, just got caught out on the big final day. That can happen."
ISLAMABAD: Former cricketer Zaheer Abbas on Monday lauded the Pakistan team for pulling off an excellent win against title-holders India in the Champions Trophy final and credited youngsters for the big victory. Talking to the agency, Zaheer said by beating India in the final, Pakistan took revenge of its first group match loss to India. “India team played below the bar in the final which resulted in their doom,” he said. He said the victory credit especially goes to youngsters for the superb win. “Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali and Muhammad Amir proved no team is tough enough to beat on any day if you have the morale and courage to do well,” he said. Zaheer praised skipper Sarfraz Ahmed for taking wise decisions at the right time which brought Pakistan to victory in the Champions Trophy. Former cricketer Wasim Bari hoped after CT win, Pakistan would develop a consistent culture of winning matches. “Beating India and winning the Champions Trophy final is a gift from the Pakistan cricket team to the whole Pakistani nation for Eid,” he said. App
Title victory gives new identity to Pakistan cricket: former captains LAHOre App
A number of former cricket captains on Monday said the historic victory of Pakistan cricket team has given a new identity to Pakistan cricket and re-established its status as one of the best cricket teams in the world. “The team exhibited a heart touching performance proving all predictions wrong by winning a major title after a long gap of two and a half decades”, said Waqar Younis, Younis Khan, Misbahul Haq and Muhammad Yousaf while talking to this agency on Monday. They said Pak team outclassed India in the final with the extraordinary performance. “It was a treat to watch young Fakhar Zaman smashing an enterprising century
(114) and experienced batsmen Muhammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali contributing valuable half-centuries to inspire Pakistan to a superb total; by Muhammad Amir ripped through the Indian batting and young bowlers, Hassan Ali, Shadab Khan and Junaid Khan underlined their talent with skillful bowling to dismiss India at a low total,” they said. Waqar said the victory will help serve the cause of cricket at home where international cricket is not being played for many years. “This victory has come at a time when we were struggling in the cricket world, but now it has infused a new confidence. “ Younis Khan termed the performance of the team in final “a rousing show of skills and talent of young players “ and also praised the captaincy of Sarfraz Ahmad.
Misbah described the success “valuable” as such a big title has been achieved after twenty five years after success in 1992 World Cup in Australia. Muhammad Yousaf said with no international cricket being played in Pakistan, the victory is a silver lining in the dark cloud. The former captains were of the view that success in the Champions Trophy widely speaks about the rise of cricket in Pakistan despite the fact that foreign teams are not visiting the country for almost one decade. “Victory in the final has its own significance, it has added to the confidence of the little known players who performed superbly and has given a new identity to the team after losing to India,” they said.
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