ISLAMABAD: Former South African captain Graeme Smith and ex-Australian batsman Michael Hussey have hailed Pakistan team for defeating arch-rivals India in the ICC Champions Trophy final at The Oval on Sunday.

Former South African skipper Graeme Smith in his column for www.icc-cricket.com while appreciating Pakistan team said the fashion of their win in the final surprised him the most.

He said throughout the tournament, Pakistan’s strength had been its bowling unit, spearheaded by Hasan Ali.

However, the way, they approached the final was superb.

“The batting was completely uninhibited by the occasion, and for Fakhar Zaman to come up with a mature display like that in just his fourth international innings is outstanding,” Smith underlined.

He said Pakistan’s innings was characterised by intent, and a momentum which they maintained throughout.

“The hundred from Fakhar was so full of class, and proved to be the anchor to the Pakistan innings that as a team they have been short of all too often.”

He said the pitch at The Oval was tailor-made for strokeplay, and he was hugely impressed with how well Pakistan dealt with India’s bowling threat in comparison to the same fixture earlier in the tournament.

“The spinners were attacked cleverly and with real skill, and it’s not often you see both Ashwin and Jadeja go the distance in the same game.”

According to Smith, Mohammad Amir’s sensational opening spell quashed any real hope that India had of mounting a challenge, with the key wicket of Virat Kohli to go with Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma.

“He [Amir] has the pace to trouble the very top players, and is very skilful with respect to when he makes use of his in-swinger. The presence of swing was evidently in Kohli’s mind as he nudged in uncharacteristic fashion against Amir early in his innings,” wrote Smith.

“They [Pakistan] have been the only bowling unit to get the white ball moving with any sort of consistency, and the discipline they have shown as a team in terms of restricting and squeezing sides has gone a long way to winning them the tournament,” he added.

Meanwhile, former Australian batsman Michael Hussy while lauding Pakistan for pulling off a superb victory said huge congratulations needed to go to Mickey Arthur, Sarfraz Ahmed, the support staff and players for showing great character and turning the team’s fortunes around.

“The final was the first time that I have experienced a match between the two great rivals live, and the atmosphere at the ground was just electric,” Hussey wrote in his column for www.icc-cricket.com.

He said Pakistan’s bowling attack was brilliant with Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan contributing well throughout the tournament but the emergence of a couple of newer players in Hasan and Fakhar was exciting for the Pakistan’s future.

Australian cricketing legend Adam Gilchrist on Monday also credited Pakistan’s adaptability and perseverance in the face of domestic challenges as key to their rout of favourites India in the ICC Champions Trophy.

“Deep in your heart, as a cricket lover, you can’t be disappointed to see a nation like that [win]. We all know their struggles of not getting any international cricket back home,” Gilchrist told reporters in New Delhi.

“They are basically a nomadic team which plays abroad. Perhaps because of that, they were able to adjust well in those conditions.

“The only predictable thing about Pakistan cricket is that they are unpredictable,” said the former wicketkeeper-batsman, adding the win was a “positive story” for cricket.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2017