India's road to the Champions Trophy final

Published : Jun 17, 2017 14:57 IST

India will take on Pakistan in a much-awaited and anticipated ICC Champions Trophy final on Sunday, with the Champions Trophy head-head between the two all square at 2-2. Both the sub-continental teams had a stellar run through the tournament to make it through to the coveted final. Here is a look at India's road to the final.

The Indian top order put up a splendid performance, with Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh scoring above fifty runs each.</br> The result- Pakistan was to chase an intimidating 320 - which was reduced to 289 due to downpour. Sparing Azhar Ali, the Pakistani batsmen failed to perform with the bat, despite a reduced total and were bundled out for a measly 164. </br>Umesh Yadav was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3-30 and was well-backed by Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, who scalped two wickets each.

Shikhar Dhawan's love affair with the Champions Trophy continued as he scored a brilliant 125, to propel India to a formidable 321. Rohit Sharma and M.S. Dhoni made crucial contributions of 78 and 63, respectively. </br>Riding on their success against Pakistan, the Indian bowlers looked to replicate their performance, but to no avail. </br>A spirited Lankan side, driven by a powerful 89 from Kusal Mendis, thwarted the Indian bowlers to reach its target with seven wickets to spare, handing the defending champ an embarrassing defeat.

This was India's final group game and was an absolute do-or-die situation for the title defender, as it looked to book a place in the semifinal. </br>After winning the toss and electing to field, the Indian bowling unit - supported by the fielders - bowled out the Proteas for a below-par 191, with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah picking up two wickets each for less than 30 runs. Mr. Dependable, Shikar Dhawan, dazzled once again with the bat and struck an important 78 and was supported by captain Kohli, who took India to the target with a brilliant unbeaten 76.

India made it to the final of the Champions Trophy with a scintillating batting display put up by unbeaten knocks by Rohit Sharma (125*) and Virat Kohli (96*). Bangladesh Scored 264, with Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim scoring a 50 each. Kedar Jadhav was the pick of the bowlers and scalped dismissed both set batsmen, Iqbal and Rahim. </br> India got off to a flying chase as tournament top-scorer, Shikhar Dhawan, smashed the Bangladesh bowlers around and made a quick 46 before making way for Kohli. Rohit Sharma hit his first century in nearly 18 months and Kohli piled on an unbeaten 96, to lead India to the final with a comprehensive victory.

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India will take on Pakistan in a much-awaited and anticipated ICC Champions Trophy final on Sunday, with the Champions Trophy head-head between the two all square at 2-2. Both the sub-continental teams had a stellar run through the tournament to make it through to the coveted final. Here is a look at India's road to the final.
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