Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali has made a massive revelation, stating that the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 organisers conspired against his side to set up a grand finale between India and Pakistan.
Speaking on the Beard Before Wicket podcast, Moeen Ali claimed that a fresh pitch was used for the India vs Bangladesh semi-final in the showpiece event, while the second semi-final between England and Pakistan was played on a used pitch. He went on to add that this was done to have both Asian arch-rivals in the grand finale.
India defeated Bangladesh by nine wickets in the first semi-final, while Pakistan brushed aside England by eight wickets in the second semi-final.
“We got a lucky wicket, that type of pitch,” leg-spinner Shadab Khan admitted on the YouTube show Beard Before Wicket, featuring Moeen and Adil Rashid.
“And this is no excuse; we lost, and they probably would beat us anyway — actually, Pakistan used to beat us in the World Cup — but we’re playing a semi-final on a used pitch in Cardiff, and India were playing, I think, Bangladesh on a fresh pitch,” Moeen Ali said.
“It’s almost like they wanted an India-Pakistan final. Because we were playing well, we had a very good team. This is my own opinion—on a really good fast wicket, at that time, we beat anyone. Maybe Pakistan is the only team that can beat us. But on the used pitch, we were still lacking on used pitches a little bit. And they won because Mohammad Amir and Hasan were so good. And so, you know, I still think that they wanted an India-Pakistan final,” he concluded.
In the grand finale, Pakistan defeated India by 180 runs at The Oval in London on June 18, 2017. Fakhar Zaman scored 114 runs off 106 balls, Azhar Ali contributed 59 runs, and Mohammad Hafeez added an unbeaten 57 runs to push Pakistan to a strong total of 338/4. Hardik Pandya fought back with 76 off 43, but India got all out for 158.
