Indian captain Virat Kohli admitted that Pakistan was the better side on the day and did not let India off the hook at any point of the match. India crashed to a 180-run defeat to Pakistan in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy.
India were trounced by Pakistan in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. India was chasing a total of 339 and was dismissed for just 158. Virat Kohli commended the Pakistan team for coming out with the goods on the day and never letting the Indian team off the hook. “Credit to the opposition,” said the Indian captain, “They had to earn their win and made us make those mistakes in the way they bowled and put pressure in the field.”
India’s top three of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli were taken out on the cheap by Mohammad Amir and that, in itself, dented India’s chances. “Early wickets are never good, especially in a chase,” said Kohli, “One good partnership would have been to key to set it up nicely.” It was then all downhill for India. When asked whether the early wickets had an effect on the match, Kohli said that it is “hard to say in the shorter formats of the game.” “When Hardik started hitting, everyone started getting the feeling that if we can take the game deep then we can get closer to the total,” he said.
Hardik Pandya’s innings was the only real positive for India in the match. He scored 76 off 46 balls in an innings peppered with big sixes. But he departed after a mix-up with Ravindra Jadeja. His wicket effectively signaled the end of India’s challenge. He also reiterated that India was beaten by a better side at The Oval. “We have no hesitation or shame to admit that we could not play our best game today,” he said.
Online Source: The Indian Express
