No complaints, England - Pakistan put in the bowling performance of the Champions Trophy so far
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England were beaten by a brilliant bowling performance and sometimes you just have to take your hat off to the opposition and say well played.
You can get angry and upset when your team loses because they haven’t turned up or they’ve thrown a game away.
Not this time.
Pakistan fully deserved their win because they played by far the better cricket and put in the bowling performance of the tournament so far.
They were outstanding and credit where credit is due, they did not allow England to play the sort of cricket they normally like to play.
(Photo: Getty)
I was a little concerned at the fact it was a used pitch for the semi-final, and I thought it was a brave decision by Pakistan to give England first use of it when it might be more difficult to score on later.
But they took their gamble brilliantly thanks to their bowlers, who stepped up when it mattered most on the big occasion.
Junaid Khan is a wonderful bowler, Hassan Ali has been a star of the tournament and Ramman Raees showed no signs of nerves on his debut.
It was an impressive all-round display by them.
(Photo: Rex Features)
Nine times out of ten, I still think this England side would win the game.
But this was the one that Pakistan got right and there should be no shame in losing to the better team on the day.
England have thrashed plenty of teams recently and they will continue to get better, but this was a game that got away from them and serves as a reminder that in knockout cricket you’ve got to find a way by hook or by crook.