Ramiz only commentator to predict Pak-India final, green shirts victory

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LAHORE: Pakistan former cricket captain, Ramiz Raja, who was part of the 15-man star-studded line-up of TV commentators for the Champions Trophy was the only commentator who predicted Pak-India final, with green shirts clinching the title of the mega event.

Ramiz was among the top notch commentators, including Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Graeme Smith, Brendon McCullum, Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Sourav Ganguly, Sanjay Manjrekar, Shaun Pollock, Michael Slater, Ian Bishop, Shane Warne and Athar Ali Khan, who gave their thoughtful and entertaining comments during the matches of the Champions Trophy.

In the pre-tournament predictions, a majority of the commentators rated India and England as the favourites to qualify for the final with the English side favourite to win the title.

Interestingly, Ramiz was the only commentator who said that Pakistan and India will play the final and green shirts will lift the title.

No other commentator came up with that thought or a prediction as Pakistan being the number eight ranked team in the world started the tournament as ‘underdogs’. Things turned from bad to worse when Pakistan lost the inaugural match to India.

“I had a strong conviction deep inside me that no matter what happens Pakistan will meet India in the final and they will win the title”, Ramiz told this agency on Monday.

“It was good to see that my prediction did not go wrong and our team won the title in a style, chalking out a victory which widely endorses the claim that this team is in the process of making”, he said.

He expressed his delight on Pakistan’s victory in the final and described it a memorable show of collective efforts and teamwork.

“Sarfraz Ahmad duly justified the role of captain and throughout the tournament he handled the team in a professional manner, proving himself a big inspiration for the team”, the former captain said.