India are set to take on Pakistan in the final of the Champions Trophy 2017 this Sunday at The Oval. Pakistan will be looking to exact revenge on India after they lost to them in the opening match and hopefully win the tournament for the first time. As for India, the men in blue will be determined to remain champions.
India and Pakistan were in the same group and the defending champions topped the group only due to a better run rate. Both teams lost one match and won the other two. As mentioned above, Pakistan lost to India while Sri Lanka defeated the men in blue.
Also read: Reasons why India should fear Pakistan
In the semi-final stage of the tournament, India did not disappoint at all as they eased past Bangladesh winning with nine wickets remaining and 59 balls to spare. In the other semi-final, Pakistan took on England and it was a bit of surprise to see the host nation lose. The match proved to be no problem for Pakistan as they got England all out for 211 and finished the match with 77 balls remaining.
Throughout the four matches the two teams have played so far there have been a few standout stars who have really impressed. Here we take a look at a combined India-Pakistan starting 11 ahead of the Champions Trophy 2017 final. The team selected is based on the form of the players in the tournament so far.
Rohit Sharma
The Indian opener deserves to be on this list without any question. Sharma has been one of the most consistent batsmen this tournament and other than a poor showing against South Africa he has been phenomenal in every other match so far. He scored 91 against Pakistan, 78 against Sri Lanka and a superb 123 in the semi-final against Bangladesh. He has a total of 304 runs this tournament which is the second highest.
Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan is the next player on the list and like Rohit, he too deserves to be on the list. He and Rohit have been two of the best batsmen this tournament and Dhawan is the top scorer in the Champions Trophy 2017 with 317 runs. Dhawan has scored two half centuries and one century and missed out on another one in the semi-final by four runs. He will be expected to put on another show in the final.
Virat Kohli
This combined 11 team would be incomplete with the Indian skipper Virat Kohli. After a tough time in the IPL with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kohli is back to his best and will be hoping to guide India to their second Champions Trophy title. Kohli is fifth on the list for most runs got with 253. He scored 81 against Pakistan, 76against South Africa and 96 against Bangladesh. His only disappointing performance was against Sri Lanka where he got out for a duck.
Azhar Ali
Azhar Ali has been Pakistan's most consistent batsmen in the Champions Trophy. Apart from a poor showing against South Africa where he scored only 9 runs, the Pakistan opener has been really good with the bat. He scored 76 in the semi-final against England, 34 against Sri Lanka and 50 against India. His 50 against India was in vain as they ended up losing the match but he will be keen to make up for that in the final.
Fakhar Zaman
After not being selected in the opening match against India, Fakhar Zaman has made the most of the opportunities he has got so far. In his first match into the squad he scored 31 against South Africa and he just kept getting better after that. He followed that up with a 50 against Sri Lanka and another half-century against England in the semi-final.
MS Dhoni (wk)
It was a tough decision to choose between MS Dhoni and Sarfraz Ahmed but the Indian wicketkeeper is the better choice as he is more reliable. Both players have not been able to get a chance with the bat with Dhoni getting only one chance to bat against Sri Lanka where he scored 63. The Pakistan keeper has just had two showings with the bat and in one of them, he hit 61. As far as dismissals go, Sarfraz has five while Dhoni just has four but that could change in the final.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah
Kumar and Bumrah have been India's best bowler so far this tournament and while they have not take a lot of wickets they do get the job done. Kumar has taken six wickets so far while Bumrah has taken five and the two of them were particularly impressive in the semi-finals against Bangladesh. The pair got two wickets each and dismissed Bangladesh's important players in Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman and Mahmudullah and they will be expected to do the same in the final.
Hasan Ali and Junaid Khan
Just like Rohit and Dhawan have been impressive for India with the bat, Hasan Ali and Junaid Khan have been Pakistan's standout performers with the ball. Hasan Ali is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 10 while Junaid Khan is third on the list with seven.Although Ali took only one wicket against India and Khan did not play in their opening match, India need to be wary of them in the final.
