Another leader for Pakistan, Mohammad Amir, had emerged during a 2010 tour of England as one of the most thrilling teenage talents in international cricket in many years, a left-armed bowler combining electric pace with swing.

His career went off course in a Test match at the Lord’s Cricket Ground that year. Amir bowled two no-balls that, according to The News of the World, were delivered in return for cash from a cricket agent. Amir was provisionally suspended and then, a year later, found guilty in a criminal case. He spent three months in a young offenders’ institute in Britain and was banned from playing cricket for five years.

Amir returned to international cricket last year, and while still worth his place on Pakistan’s team, he had become less mesmerizing than when he made his debut at 17.

But in front of 24,000 spectators at the sold-out Oval on Sunday, Amir produced a performance for the ages. He claimed three wickets in a captivating opening bowling spell — including Virat Kohli, India’s captain and the world’s most prized wicket.

For all the clichés about the team’s unpredictability, it has been a mediocre one-day side for many years, as evidenced by its ranking and a record of no finals in its previous 10 one-day international tournaments (the Champions Trophy and the World Cup) since 1999. This was India’s fifth appearance in a final since then, including its win in the last Champions Trophy four years ago.

Sunday’s result, watched by an estimated 400 million around the world, was a reminder that Pakistan’s cricket side retains an enchanting ability to renew itself and mock sporting logic as it does so.

The victory was even more notable for coming in Pakistan’s age of home exile. No major opponents have toured the country since 2009, when gunmen attacked a Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, wounding at least a half-dozen players.