An eighth-ranked side
Pakistan qualified for the 2017 Champions Trophy on the last available cut-off date, ranked eighth of the eight teams that took part. They lost their opening match to India by 124 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, conceding 319 in 48 overs and being bowled out cheaply. They then won four consecutive matches, the last of them by the largest margin recorded in any ICC one-day final.
The format was the same as 2013: eight teams, two groups of four, fifteen matches over eighteen days at The Oval, Edgbaston and Cardiff. The weather was again a factor. Australia's group matches against New Zealand and Bangladesh were both abandoned as no results, which left them needing to beat England and unable to do so; they went home without a completed win.
The groups
Group A came down to net run-rate and abandonments. England beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in the opening match, then New Zealand by 87 runs, then Australia by 40 on DLS to win the group with three wins from three. Bangladesh beat New Zealand by five wickets at Cardiff after being 33 for 4 chasing 266, Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah adding 224. That result, combined with Australia's two washouts, put Bangladesh through in second place.
Group B produced two upsets. Sri Lanka chased 322 against India at The Oval, Kusal Mendis making 89. Pakistan beat South Africa by 19 runs on DLS and then beat Sri Lanka by three wickets at Cardiff, Sarfaraz Ahmed making 61 not out to win it in the forty-fifth over. India beat South Africa by eight wickets to top the group, with South Africa and Sri Lanka both eliminated.
Pakistan beat England by eight wickets in the first semi-final at Cardiff, bowling them out for 211 with Hasan Ali taking 3 for 35. India beat Bangladesh by nine wickets at Edgbaston, Rohit Sharma making 123 not out.
The final
India were heavy favourites at The Oval on 18 June. Pakistan batted first and Fakhar Zaman, playing his fourth one-day international, was caught behind off Jasprit Bumrah in the fourth over with his score on 3; the delivery was a no-ball. He went on to make 114 from 106 balls. Azhar Ali contributed 59 and Mohammad Hafeez 57 not out from 37, and Pakistan finished on 338 for 4.
India's reply lasted 30.3 overs. Mohammad Amir removed Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan inside his first spell, Kohli having been dropped at point off the previous ball. Hardik Pandya made 76 from 43 before being run out, and India were bowled out for 158. The margin of 180 runs is the largest in a men's global one-day final.
Hasan Ali finished with 13 wickets and was named player of the tournament. Dhawan's 338 runs were the most, for the second edition running. It was Pakistan's first Champions Trophy and their first global one-day title since the 1992 World Cup.