India v Pakistan: The best Champions Trophy match

India and Pakistan have battled it out on multiple occasions in various tournaments. India have the upper hand in the ICC World Cup but when it comes to the Champions Trophy, Pakistan have beaten India twice. However, India fought back in 2013 when they beat Pakistan to make it 2-1.

But today we are going to relive one of the classic Champions Trophy matches between India and Pakistan. The year was 2009 when India met Pakistan at the historic SuperSport Park in Centurion, South Africa. The stage was set and the two heavyweights were clashing once again.

Indian team looked better on paper than Pakistan. With the greats of cricket still playing at their best, Pakistan had a task on their hands. However, games are not won on paper. Pakistan won the toss and captain Younis Khan chose to bat.

India started impressively

Pakistan’s opening pair was an explosive one. Imran Nazir and Kamran Akmal had the technic but not the temperament. Both of them returned back to pavilion as Ashish Nehra did the job for India as he picked up both the wickets. Nazir was caught by Harbhajan at midwicket while Kamran Akmal played onto his own stumps.

Pakistan were now struggling at 53 for 2 as Nazir went back for a score of 20 and Akmal went for 19. The skipper Younis Khan tried to steady the ship but couldn’t really do it. He was sent packing by RP Singh after he edged one to Indian skipper Dhoni behind the stumps.

The men in green were now reeling at 65 for 3 after 15 overs and at the crease were two experienced campaigners; Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik. Both of them had a huge task on their hands as they tried to get Pakistan out of trouble.

The Malik and Yousuf show

Shoaib Malik had a liking for India. He always upped his game whenever he faced India and that day was no different. He partnered well with Yousuf and built a record partnership. Both of them stood at the crease from 16^th over until the 46^th over.

They not only stopped wickets from flowing but they also scored runs in the process. Shoaib Malik was in a terrific form as he scored a magnificent century. Malik scored 128 of 126 balls hitting 16 boundaries to bring up his 7^th ODI century.

Mohammad Yousuf on the other hand also scored a superb half-century. He scored 87 runs off 88 balls and paired up with Malik extremely well. The duo shared a 206 run partnership between them. This helped Pakistan to get to a total of 302 in 50 overs. India were left with a stiff target to chase but given their batting lineup, it was anything but impossible.

Indian bowlers did well until that partnership struck but nothing really went their way. Ashish Nehra was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up 4 wickets as other bowlers contributed with a wicket here and there to reduce Pakistan from 271 for 4 to 302 for 9.

India’s run chase

India had a 303 run target to chase. The opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir took the crease. At the score of 23, India lost their first wicket in the form of Sachin Tendulkar. He was dismissed as a result of a great delivery from a very young Mohammad Amir. He edged one to the keeper and was sent back with only 8 runs against his name.

Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir then took the matters into their own hands. The latter was hitting the ball beautifully well as he brought up his half-century in just 36 deliveries. Dravid, on the other hand, was just playing his own game. He just steadied the innings as Gambhir was going hammer and tongs from the other end.

However, the southpaw’s innings came to an end brutally. He was run out after a mix-up and the credit goes to Younis Khan, the captain. He hit the stumps directly from mid-off as Gambhir’s brisk innings of 57 came to an end.

India then kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. Dravid was still there at the crease when India lost the likes of Virat Kohli, the captain MS Dhoni. Kohli tried to hit one over mid-off but found the fielder while Dhoni was trapped in front by Shahid Afridi.

Raina and Dravid then webbed a 72 run partnership. Again Raina was the aggressor here with a fluent 46 from 41 deliveries. However, just when things looked good for India, they went south again. Raina was gone LBW as Ajmal was bowling beautifully. After that, the wickets just tumbled and India were all out for just 248 losing the match by 54 runs.

Dravid top-scored for India with 76 runs from 103 balls but that didn’t take India to the victory as Pakistan made it 2 out of 2 in the Champions Trophy. This loss meant that India had to win against Australia and West Indies but the game against Australia was washed out and India went crashing out of the Champions Trophy.