"It Felt As If I Have Been Burdened With Weight And Pressure"- Azhar Ali Opens Up On Virat Kohli's Dropped Catch In ICC Champions Trophy 2017 Final

Pakistan had outclassed the mighty Men in Blue in the 2017 Champions Trophy final & won the match by a whooping margin of 180 runs. The then skipper Virat Kohli had got a reprieve when he was dropped by Azhar Ali in the slips off the bowling of Mohammed Amir. Virat Kohli later was dismissed as his wicket proved to be decisive in the mammoth run chase of 339 runs.

Pakistan have a pretty good record in ICC Champions Trophy against India where they have won twice as compared to 50-over World Cups where they are yet to win a match against India. It was a remarkable achievement for Pakistan where Sarfaraz Ahmed’s captaincy was top-notch.

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 It felt as if I have been burdened with weight and pressure- Azhar Ali

Azhar Ali was having an interaction on ‘Hasna Mana Hai’ where he revealed the phase when he dropped the catch of Virat Kohli. Azhar Ali had played a key knock of 59 runs in 71 balls where he struck 6 fours & 1 six and was involved in a huge partnership of 128  runs with Fakhar Zaman. Azhar Ali mentioned the trauma he faced after dropping the catch.

“I saw it in reality. Between that drop catch and his dismissal, plenty of things flashed before my eyes. It felt as if I have been burdened with weight and pressure, and that the entire world is watching me asking as if ‘Look what he’s done’,” said Azhar Ali.

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“That was my feeling and I thought ‘God forbid, if he does what he is famous for… of he chases this down – he scores a lot in chases – my house will get vandalized’. I feel I was happier than the whole of Pakistan. Close shave (after the dismissal of Virat Kohli),” he added.

Great Triumph for Pakistan

Mohammed Amir was the wrecker-in-chief in the final of 2017 where he took 3 key wickets of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli which changed the complexion of the match. It was a team effort from Pakistan’s cricket team where Hasan Ali was the player of the tournament with 13 wickets in 5 matches. 2017 CT win changed the face of the Pakistan Cricket Team.

Former skipper, Virat Kohli’s decision to bowl first in the final was quite questionable where conditions weren’t that bowling friendly. India had a near-perfect CT 2017 till that time when they defeated Pakistan (*in the group stage), South Africa & Bangladesh in semi-final where everyone contributed but the performance in the final ruined all the hard work.

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