CT 2017, Semi Final 1, ENG v PAK – Pakistan Player Ratings

It has been a remarkable turnaround for Pakistan in the Champions Trophy this year. When they were bruised by 124 runs at Edgbaston in their first game against India, little was expected by them in the matches to follow. However, they ended up stunning South Africa and Sri Lanka to storm into the semi-finals. Now, they managed to knock out the tournament favorites, the hosts – England.

Needless to say, it has indeed been a turnaround of all sorts for Pakistan. In the big semi-final, skipper Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and put England in to bat first. They had an early blow going into the game with their star bowler Mohammad Amir being ruled out of the fixture due to back spasm. However, that did not tinker their spirits as an exceptional bowling display followed. They bundled out the mighty batting lineup for a paltry 211 in 49.5 overs.

In the run chase, it was some spectacular batting by the Pakistan openers that set the tone for the Pakistani win on the day. Openers Fakhar Zaman and Azhar Ali showed positive intent right from the word go and attacked the opposition bowlers. A century stand set the base for the short run chase. Ali and Zaman hit individual fifties en route their century stand.

With the perfect win, Pakistan have now romped into the finals of the Champions Trophy 2017. Here are the Pakistan Player Ratings for the Eng v Pak encounter:

Fakhar Zaman – 8.5/10

Fakhar Zaman has been a revelation for the Pakistani team in this tournament. The hard-hitting opener continued his merry run with the bat in the match. He batted the opposition away with his flurry of attacking shots in the powerplay. Zaman powered himself to his second consecutive fifty.

He blasted a quick 57 off just 58 balls with 7 fours and a six to his name. He put on a 118-run stand for the first wicket with Azhar Ali. He lost his concentration and ended up being short of his crease to be stumped by Jos Buttler off the bowling of Adil Rashid in the 22nd over.

Azhar Ali – 9/10

Azhar Ali brought all his experience to best use on the day when it mattered the most. Azhar batted superbly with his opening partner Fakhar Zaman. With a century stand to their name, they set the tone for the perfect win for the Pakistani team.

While Zaman took the attack to the opposition, Ali settled his nerves at the crease. He took the anchor role in the run chase. Azhar ended up chopping one on to his own stumps after having scored a crucial 76 off 100 balls. He hit 5 fours and a six in his innings. He was unlucky not to have finished the game for his side.

Babar Azam  8/10

Babar Azam, the young batting mainstay of the Pakistan batting, showed some serious class on the day. He hit a straight hit off the bowling of Adil Rashid early on in his innings to show his class with the bat. Azam played a calm knock to ensure that his team was over the line. His performance ahead of the big final is surely a big plus for the men in green. Azam scored an unbeaten 38 off just 44 balls with a couple of fours and a six to his name.

Mohammad Hafeez – 8.5/10

Veteran player Mohammad Hafeez made his presence felt in the early overs of the match with a brilliant save in the covers. Later in the game, he was handed the ball to fill in some overs considering the fact that the English batsmen did not look very comfortable against the spin bowlers.

Hafeez bowled as many as 8 overs and managed to contain the run flow to a great extent. He gave away only 33 runs but failed to pick up wickets. However, he was successful enough in creating pressure from one end. With the bat, Hafeez arrived at the crease with the dismissal of Azhar Ali. He hit two maximums en route his unbeaten 31 off 21 balls with 2 sixes and 3 fours.

Shoaib Malik – Not Assigned

Shoaib Malik did not have too much to do in either departments on the day. He was not given the ball and neither did he get his opportunity to bat.

Sarfraz Ahmed – 7.5/10

Right from the onset, the Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed looked very bold and competitive in his approach on the day. He set up attacking fields and was always on the attack against the hyped mighty opposition. He backed his bowles – even if it meant taking the review in the very first over of the match for Junaid Khan’s appeal. His good captaincy certainly reflected in the way the Pakistanis performed on the day.

Imad Wasim – 5/10

Imad Wasim did not get too many overs to bowl on the day. As expected, he was brought in as the first change bowler for Pakistan in the match. He bowled well enough with the relatively new ball. In the five overs that he got to bowl, he gave away only 16 runs and could have been given more overs to bowl in the match. Imad did not get too much turn from the surface but stuck to his lines immaculately.

Shadab Khan – 6/10

18-year-old young leggie Shadab Khan was drafted in the playing eleven at the expense of Fahim Ashraf for this game. Shadab bowled his quota of overs in the middle-overs to contain the opposition batsmen. He bowled well in tandem with Imad Wasim. Shadab picked up the key wicket of Joe Root, who looked very set on 46 at one stage of the game. He finished with 1/40 in the 9 overs that he bowled on the day.

Rumman Raees – 6.5/10

Left arm pacer Rumman Raees was on debut in the big game. The last moment ruling out of Mohammad Amir saw Raees being the beneficiary. He started on a good note with some tight bowling in the first couple of overs that he bowled. In the third over that he bowled, he managed to dismiss Alex Hales to get his maiden ODI scalp. Later in the day, he dismissed Liam Plunkett in his final over. He returned with figures of 2/44 in the match.

Hassan Ali – 9/10

The young Pakistan pacer Hassan Ali is arguably the most impressive pacer in the national setup. He continued his exceptional bowling in this game as well. He backed up his three wicket haul from the previous game with another three-for in this game.

Hassan was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/35 to his name in the complete quota of 10 overs that he bowled on the day. Not only did he pick wickets, but also choked the run flow. He picked the big fishes, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan, and Ben Stokes.

Junaid Khan – 7/10

Junaid Khan had the onus on him with Mohammad Amir not playing the game. He was the senior pacer in the lineup and took the new ball. Junaid, who found good assistance from the track in the previous game, did not get much swing on the day but managed to bowl tight lines.

He did not get the early breakthroughs but managed to scalp a couple in the middle overs. He dismissed the dangerous Jos Buttler cheaply and then backed it up with the wicket of Moeen Ali as well. In the 8.5 overs that he bowled, he returned with figures of 2/42 in the match.