Mickey Arthur praises pacer Mohammadd Amir as a big match player

Pakistan had the golden opportunity of getting revenge on the side which defeated it in the final of an ICC event a decade ago, when both the sides met in the final of the Champions Trophy 2017. Pakistan won their first ICC tournament since the 1992 World Cup, with a convincing win in the CT 2017 final.

The Pakistan side led by Sarfraz Ahmed was written off as early as after the opening match where they were defeat by India. However, to everyone’s surprise, they came back to win consecutive matches against South Africa, Sri Lanka, England and finally against India in the finals of the tournament.

“It sort of feels surreal really, to be honest,” Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur said during a media conference. “But the thing about that loss to India was we knew that was an aberration. It wasn’t the norm because we had prepared properly. We knew the calibre of players we had so we just had to keep believing,” the coach added.

Zaman and Amir to the party

Pakistan went into the match against India having lost their last eight meetings in the World Cup and Champions Trophy. A brilliant century from the opener Fakhar Zaman was more than enough to give the side a sniff at victory, which they went on to achieve.

“What I do know is that Mohammad Amir, he’s a big match player,” said South African, Arthur. “I do know that when the game is on the line and the bigger the game the more he performs, the more ramped up he gets, so he doesn’t shy away from pressure situations. He’s got proper big match temperament, and he showed that today on the biggest stage.”

Massive moment for Pakistan Cricket

The title win was also Pakistan’s first since the 1992 victory and was a sweet moment for the side which has been reduced to hosting the matches outside their country, given the security concerns around Pakistan.

“I think it’ll be massive (for Pakistan cricket),” Arthur said. “I’m sure that the nation of Pakistan is really happy tonight because they deserve it for what they’ve been through. The fans not identifying with their heroes because they just don’t see international cricket. That’s massive for the country. So let’s hope that this really kick-starts that momentum in Pakistan again,” the South African concluded.