Australia's Hussey calls Pakistan destiny's child

Former Australian batsman Michael Hussey on Monday called Pakistan destiny's child after the green brigade defeated India in the Champions Trophy final at Kennington Oval here.

Pakistan on Sunday dominated with both bat and ball to thrash a rather off-colour India by 180 runs and lift the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.

This was the first Champions Trophy title for Pakistan. The south Asian nation claimed their third ICC tournament, having earlier won the 50-over World Cup in 1992 and the World Twenty20 in 2009.

Put in to bat, Pakistan rode on a century by opener Fakhar Zaman to post a massive total of 338/4 in the allotted 50 overs.

In reply, India were all out for 158 runs in 30.3 overs.

"The final was the first time that I have experienced a match between the two great rivals live, and the atmosphere at the ground was just electric. Pakistan was the underdog coming into the final but there was a feeling of destiny about it," Hussey wrote in his column for the International Cricket Council (ICC) describing his first experience on watching the arch-rivals play.

"Tournament play is all about peaking at the right time and after a poor start to the tournament, most pundits gave it no chance of winning. However, by the time it lifted the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 at The Oval, it was undoubtedly playing its best cricket," he added.

The 42-year-old also mentioned the fact that a lot was at stake for the teams participating in the Champions Trophy and the top ranked sides can be easily beaten on their given day.

"As the tournament ended, the reputations of some teams and players have grown and some have taken a hit. Unfortunately, from an Australian perspective, not much went right and the team was bundled out early," Hussey said.

"South Africa, too, unexpectedly, exited the tournament at the group stage after coming in as one of the favourites. It shows that the top teams in the world are very close and anyone can be beaten on a given day," he added.

Hussey also praised Pakistani bowlers and opening batsman Fakhar Zaman for their brilliant performances.

"Pakistan bowling attack was brilliant with Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan contributing well throughout the tournament but the emergence of a couple of newer players in Hasan Ali and Fakhar Zaman, who scored a brilliant century in the final, is exciting for the future of their side," Hussey said.

--IANS

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