What a sea of fortunes this last fortnight has been!
Before it began, this edition of Champions Trophy had been advertised by Star Sports as 'Champions ka World Cup'. An apt description, considering the fact that only the top 8 teams as per ICC rankings made the cut. This meant a former giant West Indies missing out. This is a team that as recently as March last year, had won the World T20 in a thrilling finish with 4 sixes on as many balls in a dramatic final at the Wankhede.
This augurs well for the game, that there is enough competition to edge out such high-quality teams. The event was being held in the British Isles, just like the previous (2013) edition.
And as soon as the event began, one performer stood out for consistency and impact. It was the ever-fickle English weather. Rain played a part in almost all matches in the first week, leading to wash-outs and overs being truncated.
As a result, after 6 days and 6 games, we had 2 wash-outs with points shared, and the other ones won by 96 runs, 124 runs, 87 runs and 8 wickets. The margins clearly bring out how one-sided these games were. The tournament seemed destined to be a boring, rain-affected affair after a week. But, then Pakistan sprang to life, and so too, did the tournament.
They seemed over and out after a deflating loss to arch-rivals India by 124 runs where poor batting, pedestrian bowling and club-level fielding gave the impression that they didn't stand a chance in this event.
But, then in a must-win game against South Africa, they raised their game to another level altogether. The Proteas who had played a dominant game against Sri Lanka in their opener, were stunned. Pakistan winning by 19 runs in a rain-truncated match.
This game started a string of surprises. Sri Lanka were up next in a must-win against defending champions India, and they also produced an inspired performance, putting aside their poor form to chase down 322 convincingly.
Bangladesh then completed a hat-trick of Asian surprises by pulling off a huge upset against New Zealand. Down 33/4, they produced pure magic to chase down 266, eliminating the Kiwis from the tournament.
These upsets suddenly brought thrill and energy back, and jolted a sleeping tournament out of slumber. All of a sudden, the last few matches (Aus v Eng, Ind v SA and Pak v SL) became virtual quarter-finals and the audiences certainly loved every bit of it.
England continued their consistent dominance and steam-rolled Australia, who returned home winless. India held their nerves to get the better of a choking and nervous South Africa with ease. And Pakistan played like only Pakistan can. Stop, start, race, stutter, stop, start. A less than convincing performance, with few glimpses of brilliance took them through to the semi-finals.
Their sudden rise after the crushing loss in the first game deserves an article in itself. Refer to this great piece on Pakistan's resurgence. http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-champions-trophy-2017/content/story/1103610.html
And so we had our semi-finalists in place. England, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The former two were pre-tournament favorites, while the latter two were teams that even in your wildest dreams, you wouldn't have expected would make it this far.
England still looked the favorite at this stage, but Pakistan's exuberant run was far from over. They put in another brilliant day at the field, and England were left in the cold once more on the global stage. India ended Bangladesh's run with a clinical win in the other semi-final, without as much as breaking a sweat.
This boils down to an India-Pakistan final, the mother of all battles, may the best team win!
Before it began, this edition of Champions Trophy had been advertised by Star Sports as 'Champions ka World Cup'. An apt description, considering the fact that only the top 8 teams as per ICC rankings made the cut. This meant a former giant West Indies missing out. This is a team that as recently as March last year, had won the World T20 in a thrilling finish with 4 sixes on as many balls in a dramatic final at the Wankhede.
This augurs well for the game, that there is enough competition to edge out such high-quality teams. The event was being held in the British Isles, just like the previous (2013) edition.
And as soon as the event began, one performer stood out for consistency and impact. It was the ever-fickle English weather. Rain played a part in almost all matches in the first week, leading to wash-outs and overs being truncated.
As a result, after 6 days and 6 games, we had 2 wash-outs with points shared, and the other ones won by 96 runs, 124 runs, 87 runs and 8 wickets. The margins clearly bring out how one-sided these games were. The tournament seemed destined to be a boring, rain-affected affair after a week. But, then Pakistan sprang to life, and so too, did the tournament.
They seemed over and out after a deflating loss to arch-rivals India by 124 runs where poor batting, pedestrian bowling and club-level fielding gave the impression that they didn't stand a chance in this event.
But, then in a must-win game against South Africa, they raised their game to another level altogether. The Proteas who had played a dominant game against Sri Lanka in their opener, were stunned. Pakistan winning by 19 runs in a rain-truncated match.
This game started a string of surprises. Sri Lanka were up next in a must-win against defending champions India, and they also produced an inspired performance, putting aside their poor form to chase down 322 convincingly.
Bangladesh then completed a hat-trick of Asian surprises by pulling off a huge upset against New Zealand. Down 33/4, they produced pure magic to chase down 266, eliminating the Kiwis from the tournament.
These upsets suddenly brought thrill and energy back, and jolted a sleeping tournament out of slumber. All of a sudden, the last few matches (Aus v Eng, Ind v SA and Pak v SL) became virtual quarter-finals and the audiences certainly loved every bit of it.
England continued their consistent dominance and steam-rolled Australia, who returned home winless. India held their nerves to get the better of a choking and nervous South Africa with ease. And Pakistan played like only Pakistan can. Stop, start, race, stutter, stop, start. A less than convincing performance, with few glimpses of brilliance took them through to the semi-finals.
Their sudden rise after the crushing loss in the first game deserves an article in itself. Refer to this great piece on Pakistan's resurgence. http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-champions-trophy-2017/content/story/1103610.html
And so we had our semi-finalists in place. England, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The former two were pre-tournament favorites, while the latter two were teams that even in your wildest dreams, you wouldn't have expected would make it this far.
England still looked the favorite at this stage, but Pakistan's exuberant run was far from over. They put in another brilliant day at the field, and England were left in the cold once more on the global stage. India ended Bangladesh's run with a clinical win in the other semi-final, without as much as breaking a sweat.
This boils down to an India-Pakistan final, the mother of all battles, may the best team win!
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