ICC Champions Trophy: 5 best performances from Pakistan's Road to the Final that don't fade away

The ever so unpredictable Pakistan cricket team’s journey to the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 has been anything but steady. After a humiliating loss to India in their tournament opener, they won against South Africa -courtesy the Duckworth Lewis Method.

Their final group stage match saw them prevail over Sri Lanka thanks to a poor fielding effort performance by the islanders. Then came the iron test against in-form hosts England, which they cleared with ease.

All in all, on the back on sheer luck, the rain Gods, and of course, some tremendous performance, the Green Army propelled themselves to the closing game of the coveted championship, where they shall meet arch-rivals India at The Oval.

Here are 5 memorable moments from Pakistan’s road to the finals that don't fade away, quite like the Axe Signature range of body perfumes.

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#1 Hasan Ali’s spell against South Africa

On his return after a forgettable outing against India in the tournament opener, Hasan Ali impressed one and all with his accuracy in line, length and pace. The 23-year old extracted movement off the pitch and kept the Proteas batsmen guessing with his variations.

The youngster was the wrecker in chief and justifiably won the man of the match for his spell of 8-1-24-3. What stood out in Hasan’s performance was the fact the South African batsmen are good players of pace.

However, Hasan’s nagging line and length made sure the batsmen didn’t get going. Since that game, he has performed consistently throughout.

#2 Sarfraz Ahmed’s innings vs Sri Lanka

A captain’s knock is always special

A captain’s knock is always special, especially when it comes at a crucial time. Pakistan secured a hard-fought win against Sri Lanka to enter the semi-finals, on the back of a sensational knock under pressure by Ahmed. He was superb in all three departments – as a captain, as a wicketkeeper and as a batsman.

His decision to bring on Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan in the middle overs helped his team restrict Sri Lanka to a low score of 236 runs. As a wicketkeeper, Ahmed took a blinder of a catch off Mohammed Amir’s bowling to dismiss a well settled NiroshanDickwella on 73.

On the day, however, he excelled the most as a batsman. When it seemed that Pakistan were losing the game, he dragged his side from the brink of defeat and took them home with a splendid unbeaten 61.

#3 Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan’s riot against Sri Lanka

Amir claimed the important wickets of Dickwella (73) and Mathews (39)

The Men in Green registered a dramatic win over the Islanders by 3 wickets to book a semi-final berth.

It what looked like smooth sailing for Sri Lanka with Angelo Mathews and Dickwella looking set for a big target, the duo of Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan produced classic spell of reverse swing to reduce the Lankans to 167/7 from a pretty comfortable 161/3 – 4 wickets and 6 runs in 22 balls!

While Amir claimed the important wickets of Dickwella (73) and Mathews (39), Junaid accounted for Dhananjaya de Silva (1) and Thisara Perera (1). Amir and Junaid returned with figures of 2/53 and 3/40 respectively from their 10 overs each. It should also be noted that the spell from Junaid included three maiden overs as well.

#4 Hasan Ali’s spell against England

With 10 wickets, Ali is the tournament’s top wicket-taker

Hasan Ali has repaid every bit of the confidence made in him by the Pakistan captain. After being belted all over the Edgbaston by Indian batsmen, he vouched to come back stronger. He did precisely that and can safely be called Pakistan’s best bowler in the tournament.

His spell of 3/35 was what changed the course of the semi-final. It was his brilliant bowling during the middle overs that took away the flow from the opposition batsmen and opened the floodgates for the other bowlers. Bowling at accurate line and length, he accounted for Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes, all of whom could have taken England to a modest total.

With 10 wickets, Ali is the tournament’s top wicket-taker and Pakistan will want the pacer to continue inflicting the damage in the middle-overs in the final.

#5 Imad Wasim’s two important wickets against South Africa

The twin wickets of Amla and ABD started the spark which led Pakistan to the final

Pakistan overcame a strong South African side in another rain-interrupted game of the tournament and emerged victorious by 19 runs. That may not have been possible without Imad Wasim’s two game-changing wickets.

After choosing to bat first, South Africa openers Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock stitched together 40 runs for the first wicket before Imad removed Amla for an LBW. After removing Amla, he, then, got rid of the dangerous AB de Villiers, which was also the Proteas captain’s first ever ODI duck.

The two batsmen could have caused enough damage to the bowlers if they had not returned to the pavilion early. If you look at the tournament at a macroscopic level, the twin wickets of Amla and ABD started the spark which led Pakistan to the final.