Pakistan broke their dismal run in ICC events against India in a convincing manner on Sunday by winning the Champions Trophy at The Oval in London by a staggering 180 runs. Prior to this, Pakistan were 2-13 against India as per win-loss records in ICC events with their last win going back eight years in the Champions Trophy too. With the win, Pakistan won their first Champions Trophy to add to their 1992 World Cup and 2009 World T20 wins. And expectedly so, Pakistani media hailed this win by splashing the heroic effort on the front pages.
Batting first after Virat Kohli won the toss, Pakistan recorded a second straight 100-plus opening stand between Fakhar Zaman and Azhar Ali to get a strong start. With the foundation built, Pakistan didn’t give up on the momentum to score a massive 339 for India to chase and defend their title. However, India didn’t get their usual bright start with Rohit Sharma gone for a duck. Wickets started to follow easily right behind with the team left in tatters at 54/5. Things improved courtesy Hardik Pandya’s 76 but a mixup between him and Ravindra Jadeja was the final nail in the coffin before India collapsed to 158.
The Dawn went with a headline of ‘Pakistan break jinx, trounce India in dream final’ as their front page lead story. They went on to applaud the work of inexperienced Fakhar Zaman for delivering a 114 run knock in just his fourth ODI match. He had made his debut against South Africa earlier in the tournament and has gone strength-to-strength. With the ball, they appreciated the efforts of Mohammad Amir who picked up three wickets.
Express Tribune ran with multiple stories on the front page celebrating the win. Their headline read, “History Created – All Hail the champs” with a slug line of “Immaculate Pakistan decimate India to lift ICC Champions Trophy”. Their substories talked of how India awoke the sleeping giant, Pakistan’s celebrations after the title win and the classic win had the pundits celebrating too.
With an image of the Pakistan team carrying the trophy, The International News’ headline read “Pakistan crush Indian team, lift Champions Trophy” with the slug reading, “Pakistanis erupt in joy as they celebrate country’s most famous 50-over win in 25 years”. There were further stories on Virat Kohli’s press conference later and celebrations by the Pakistani players.
Pakistan Observer, which began publishing in 1988, in their unique style lauded the champions. Their headline read, “Pakistan Legendary Champions”. They carried quotes by PM Nawaz Sharif, Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb as they congratulated the team.
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