ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Virat Kohli praises Fakhar Zaman's stupendous knock

Fakhar Zaman’s maiden century took Pakistan to a mammoth total

What’s the story?

After India’s crushing loss to Pakistan in the final of the Champions Trophy in London, Virat Kohli addressed the media with a heavy heart, citing the reasons behind the debacle. He reflected on various issues which he and India encountered on the field of play.

Kohli was full of praise for Fakhar Zaman’s knock, which took the game away from India. “When players like them got going and 80 percent of their strokes come off, it becomes difficult. Sometimes you have to sit behind and acknowledge the way that they were getting things going their way,” the Indian skipper said.

Kohli also highlighted the efforts of the Indian bowlers as they attempted to stem the run flow and push Pakistan on the back foot. “We tried our best to make them hit in areas, which we felt would be uncomfortable, but then there are things, which are not under your control,” Kohli added.

In case you didn’t know...

India stumbled to a humiliating loss against arch-rivals Pakistan, falling short by a mammoth margin of 180 runs. Zaman played exceptionally well to register his maiden hundred in One-Day Internationals, which eventually fetched him a Man of the Match award.

India were set a target of 339, which they couldn’t track down as wickets fell at regular intervals. Hardik Pandya played his heart out with a swashbuckling knock of 76 runs from 46 balls, all to no avail.

What’s next?

After a disappointing end to their Champions Trophy campaign, India are set to tour the West Indies for a 5-match ODI and a 1-match T20 series. India have decided to rest Rohit Sharma for the tour and it will be interesting to see how the series pans out in the Caribbean.

West Indies recently struggled against Rashid Khan and Afghanistan and India have every chance of cashing in and putting on a decent show.

Author’s take

In the recent past, India have had the upper hand over Pakistan. But this time the Pakistan side rose to the occasion and brushed India aside with sheer disdain.

Kohli is still relatively new to captaincy and is still going through a learning curve. However, there will be several positives for him to take home from the defeat. With his aggressive nature and passion for the game, he can only get better as a skipper and has the potential to become one of India’s best captains.