Kohli in charge as Pakistan crumble to a heavy defeat

INDIA kicked off their Champions Trophy defence with a crushing 124-run victory over a ragged Pakistan, who were broken by Virat Kohli in front of a global audience of up to a billion.

Worldwide interest in the Asian derby, last played in the one-day format at the 2015 World Cup, dwarfs that of the Champions League final, but aside from Kohli’s glorious strokeplay at the end of the Indian innings the excitement of a cacophonous capacity crowd at Edgbaston was not matched by a quality contest in the middle.

Kohli’s unbeaten 81 hit all the right notes as India plundered 117 from their last 10 overs, 72 of which came from the final 24 deliveries, on their way to a winning score of 319 for three.

But Pakistan were passive opponents, dreadful in the field, flaky under crucial catches and unable to mount a credible chase when asked to pursue 289 in 41 overs on Duckworth/Lewis after a series of rain delays.

To add injury to insult, key seamers Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz limped out of an already limited attack and the latter was unfit to bat, leaving his team 164 for nine at the close.

By the time they donated a succession of wickets to seal their defeat they looked every inch a team ready to take their leave, not just of this contest but the competition as a whole.

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