CHAMPIONS TROPHY

Early wickets jolt Indian chase against Pakistan

amir-kohli Pakistan's Mohammad Amir celebrates after taking the wicket of India captain Virat Kohli during the ICC Champions Trophy final at The Oval in London | AFP

A sensational spell of swing bowling from Mohammad Amir saw Pakistan pick up the crucial wickets of Indian opener Rohit Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli in the final of the Champions Trophy at The Oval. Amir, who sat out of the semifinal against England due to “back spasm”, came back into the team at the expense of Rumman Raees, who took two wickets in his debut match against the hosts.

In the third ball of the first over, Amir swung one back into Sharma, catching him plumb before the wicket. Sharma, rightfully, decided against reviewing the decision.

The Indian skipper walked in to a huge roar, but, in Amir's second over, nicked one straight into the hands of first slip, where Azhar Ali made a mess of a regulation catch. But Kohli's luck was short-lived, as, off the very next ball, his attempt to flick one on to the leg side resulted in a leading edge to the point position, where Shadab Khan made no mistake, leaving India reeling at 6/2.

Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh were at the crease.

The top three have been India's star performers in the tournament, having scored more than 80 per cent of the runs for the team so far.

Earlier, put in to bat, Pakistan rode on opener Fakhar Zaman's maiden ODI century and quickfire half-century from Mohammad Hafeez to set India a stiff target of 339. While Zaman made 114 off 106 balls, Hafeez belted four 4s and three 6s in the 37-ball 57. Imad Wasim chipped in with 25 to take Pakistan to 338/4.

India went in with the same side that beat Bangladesh in the semifinal by nine wickets.

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