Fakhar the fantastic stuns India
line-up still fancied their chances on a decent wicket, their confidence was left in ruins as Amir let rip.
His opening five overs – during the first nine in their reply – left India 33-3. Swinging the ball with searing accuracy he pinned Rohit Sharma lbw third ball and saw Virat Kohli dropped at slip in his second over, before returning with his next delivery to get India’s talisman caught at point.
And then he induced an outside edge from Shikhar Dhawan. Another recruit from the Lahore camp, 18-year-old leg spinner Shadab Khan took two crucial wickets to leave India six down – the first a review from his captain which led to a not out lbw decision against Yuvraj Singh being overturned.
And when Hardik Pandya’s blistering cameo of 76 in 43 balls ended when he was run out in Pakistani style with both he and Ravi Jadeja running for the same end, the turnaround seemed complete.
Amir’s redemption from the match-fixing scandal of 2010 now seems complete, the turnaround from three months in prison in 2011 to yesterday’s hero sealed with his part in Pakistan’s first 50-overs trophy since Imran Khan’s Wounded Tigers in the World Cup 25 years ago.
In October 2015, this Pakistan side only just made it into the tournament as one of the top eight teams in the world, and just days after the cut-off point they were beaten by Zimbabwe and slipped to ninth.
If turning things round since then has been impressive, to turn fortunes round since their opening match against yesterday’s rivals, when they were thrashed by India by 124 runs, has been even more so.
They have had splendid momentum, beating Sri Lanka in their ‘quarter final’ and then thrashing England in the semifinal. After Fakhar’s escape yesterday it seemed their name was on the trophy.
By the time Sarfraz took the final catch, off the tournament’s top wicket-taker Hasan Ali, who finished with 3-19 to win both the Champions Trophy player of the tournament and Golden Ball for his 13 wickets, there was barely a disbelieving Indian fan left to witness it.