Sarfraz never doubted Pakistan
Sarfraz Ahmed said he always believed Pakistan could reach the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 despite being written off by many after a heavy loss to India in its first match.
Pakistan bounced back from that defeat against its arch-rivals by beating South Africa and Sri Lanka to qualify for the semi-finals, before sweeping England aside by eight wickets to reach the country’s first ICC Champions Trophy final, producing a magnificent display to upset the form book.
“After the India match, we just motivated the guys,” said Pakistan’s captain after the victory at Cardiff. “Don't worry about the India match. This is gone. We have two matches. If we play good cricket, definitely we will win this tournament. Now we are in the finals.
“No one recognised us. So I was very happy for my team performance, and all the credit goes to my team management and my players.”
A superb bowling display set the platform for the victory, with Hasan Ali, the Player of the Match, claiming figures of 3-35 to make him the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 10. Fellow seamers Junaid Khan and debutant Rumman Raees took two wickets each, and the three spinners performed a vital role in keeping England’s big hitters in check.
“I was not expecting we would bowl them out for 210,” said Sarfraz. “Yesterday we came here, we had a meeting and we thought if we won the toss we would elect to bowl first and could restrict them to 260, 270. That's why the target was easy for us.
“Credit goes to the bowlers. They bowled really well, especially in the middle part, starting with Shadab [Khan]. They took Joe Root. Then Hasan came in, and he took a wicket. Then Junaid Khan, Rumman Raees. All credit goes to the bowlers.”
Sarfraz was particularly happy to see his less experienced players taking responsibility in a match of such importance, most notably Hasan and the left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman, who hit a second successive half-century at near-enough a run-a-ball, dashing any hopes of an England fightback in the process.
“I'm very happy about my youngsters performing, especially Hasan who is improving day by day. Shadab is also improving day by day, and now today Fakhar Zaman. He's playing in his third match, and now he's batting just like a champion batsman. So I'm really happy about his performance.”
Mohammad Amir was forced to miss the match after suffering a back spasm but Sarfraz was hopeful that the left-arm quick would be fit for Sunday’s final at The Oval against India or Bangladesh.
“I think he has a little bit of back spasm,” he said. “Hopefully, he will recover for the finals. Obviously, he's our main bowler. He's our best strike bowler.”
Sarfraz also sought to allay fears that Hasan was carrying an injury that could put his participation in the final in jeopardy, describing his issue as a “little shin problem”.