Pakistan deserve it: Arthur

Pakistan enhanced their long-held reputation as one of the most unpredictable teams in world sport with an extraordinary and overwhelming victory over bitter local rivals India in the Champions Trophy final on Sunday.

Widely written off after an abject display in their opening group match against the same opponents, the lowest-ranked team going into the tournament suddenly rediscovered their mojo.

"The thing about that loss to India was we knew that was an aberration. It wasn't the norm because we had prepared properly. We knew the calibre of players we had so we just had to keep believing."

A brilliant century by Fakhar Zaman laid the foundations for an imposing total of 338 for four and Mohammad Amir came up with a devastating opening spell to rip out the cream of India's batting, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan.

"What I do know is that Mohammad Amir, he's a big match player," South African Arthur. "When the game is on the line and the bigger the game the more he performs, the more ramped up he gets. He's got proper big match temperament, and he showed that today on the biggest stage."

It was Pakistan's first global 50-over title since the 1992 World Cup and a sweet moment for a team who have been unable to host international cricket in recent years due to security concerns.

"I'm sure that the nation of Pakistan is really happy tonight because they deserve it for what they've been through.

"The fans not identifying with their heroes because they just don't see international cricket. So let's hope that this really kick-starts that momentum in Pakistan again."