Pakistan’s recent record against arch-rivals India is not that impressive. However, their premier batsman Babar Azam draws inspiration from his team’s victory over India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final at The Oval.

That game, in which Pakistan won by 180 runs to give India a hiding, continues to be a guiding force for Babar in particular.

“My primary memories of the 2017 final are Fakhar Zaman’s innings (of 114), the
spell of Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali’s spell and our winning moment. For me, it was a new journey as I was a young player. Playing against India, that excitement and the
nervousness were there. But when we won, we enjoyed and celebrated,” Babar was quoted as saying by the ICC, ahead of Pakistan’s Champions Trophy opener against New Zealand in Karachi on Wednesday.

“A lot has changed since that 2017 Champions Trophy. We have had new players coming in, while we only have three or four players who were part of that winning team. But the belief, confidence and faith in execution are the same,” Babar emphasised.

Pakistan’s performance of late in limited-overs cricket has been ordinary, but according to Babar, “there’s no pressure of anything.” “We’ve discussed the mistakes we have made and worked on them. So, we’ll try not to repeat them.”