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When Pakistan played like they had nothing to lose

June 18, 2017 22:47 IST

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed celebrates with Shoaib Malik after winning the ICC Champions Trophy final against India at The Kia Oval in London on Sunday

IMAGE: Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed celebrates with Shoaib Malik after winning the ICC Champions Trophy final against India at The Kia Oval in London on Sunday. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed was all praise for his team for staging a dramatic comeback after the loss to India in the league stage.

"After the India match I said to my boys, the tournament is not finished yet. We played very well and now we have won the final," he said.

On Zaman, he said: "He's a great impact player, in his first ICC event, he played like a champion, he can be a great player for Pakistan.

"All credit goes to my bowlers, Muhammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, they bowled really well.

"It's a young team, credit goes to my boys. This tournament can be a great booster for us. We played like we had nothing to lose, now we are champions," said Sarfraz.

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur too was a happy man.

"It has been an up and down ride. After the India game, we came back superbly. We knew we were better than that. The whole group came together and kept believing and that was a superb thing. We wanted to be a lot more consistent. It has been a remarkable achievement," said Arthur.

Arthur said the focus now shifts to 2019 World Cup.

"We have got a group of young players. We are on the right track, everything is going right at the moment. I am happy with the brand of cricket we have been playing and want to continue the momentum.

"We have got two years until 2019. We have got enough points and now we do not have to go through qualifying, we want to work hard from here. We have to identify the players we want to take forward," he added.

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