'Things Changed After Jasprit Bumrah’s No-Ball'- Bhuvneshwar Kumar On India's 2017 Champions Trophy Final Defeat

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Indian white-ball pace-bowling spearhead, recently opened up about the shock 180-run defeat that the Men in Blue suffered in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy finals against Pakistan.

India had come into the tournament as defending champions and they played like one in the league-stage to book their place in yet another final. India defeated Pakistan in their opening fixture but they came in for a huge shock in the grand finale as the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led unit romped home by 180 runs to clinch their maiden Champions Trophy title.

The rub of the green went with Pakistan that day and it was truly evident when Fakhar Zaman got a lucky reprieve after he was caught-behind on a Jasprit Bumrah no-ball when he was on 3. Zaman cashed in big time and went on to score his maiden hundred to bat India out of the game.

Also Read: Kuldeep Yadav Is Good, But Needs More Variations: Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

Bhuvneshwar Kumar opens up on the 2017 Champions Trophy final defeat against Pakistan

Reminiscing about the defeat, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who claimed 1-44 in that game, said that ‘things changed after Jasprit Bumrah’s no-ball’

“In the 2017 Champions Trophy final, things changed after Jasprit Bumrah’s no-ball. It’s not like we’ve had a one-sided loss or we went down without a fight. We’ve always lost due to an unfortunate event or incident. Although, the 2017 Champions Trophy final was a one-sided loss where they outplayed us. And it’s difficult to pin-point the exact reason for the loss.” Bhuvneshwar Kumar told ESPNCricinfo.

Zaman’s hundred helped Pakistan post 4-338 in their 50 overs. India’s hopes of overhauling the total and retaining the title hinged on their famed top-order of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and captain Virat Kohli.

But Mohammad Amir proceeded to bowl a spell for the ages, dismissing each of India’s top-3 cheaply, to take the wind out of the Men in Blue’s run-chase.

Hardik Pandya’s whirlwind hitting was the only saving grace for India but even that ended in a tragedy following a horrible mix-up between him and Ravindra Jadeja.

India was eventually bowled out for 158, giving Pakistan their maiden Champions Trophy title.

Also Read: Vikram Rathour Reveals Where Rishabh Pant Stands In The Current Scheme Of Things