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Champions Trophy Has Proved Everyone Wrong, More Twists to Come?

It was supposed to be a high scoring tournament but proving everyone wrong, bowlers have won key matches.

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It seems impossible to get things right in England this summer. British Prime Minister Theresa May called for early elections to increase her majority and acquire political muscle. May gambled in April and lost in June, going from PM May to maybe PM in the process. Because of her monumental miscalculation, she lost votes, MPs and lost face.

Like the UK election, everyone has been reading the Champions Trophy wrong as well. Punters, pundits, pollsters and the general public – all flunked the test and got the result horribly wrong.

Please rewind and recall the pre-tournament chatter. Australia and England were favourites to make it to the semis from one group, while India and South Africa were tipped to sail through from the other. This was the considered view distributed through print, television and social media platforms.
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Initially, such voices were spot on as matches unfolded to script. India versus Pakistan was one-sided, a technical knock out. Team totals exceeded 300, so some smirked saying that matches in England were played on pitches from India. Bowlers got no swing, no wickets and were soundly thrashed.

The Champions Trophy confirmed the modern formula of 50 over cricket, explained lucidly by Yuvraj Singh – establish platform with solid start, build partnership and later, with wickets in hand, go for an 'all out attack'.

Then, all of a sudden, there was kahani mein zabardast twist, straight out of a loony Manmohan Desai fantasy film. Rain wiped out Australia, India failed to defend 300 plus against Sri Lanka, South Africa defeated itself by running out its main batsmen against India.
It was supposed to be a high scoring tournament but proving everyone wrong, bowlers have won key matches.
India’s Hardik Pandya celebrates taking the wicket of South Africa’s Faf du Plessis, right, during the ICC Champions Trophy match between India and South Africa. (Photo: AP)

Look at this crazy sequence : India beat Pakistan. Sri Lanka beat India. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka.

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By the time the Champions Trophy reached its business end, pre-tournament fancied Australia and South Africa had exited. Australia were done by rain and bad luck, but South Africa maintained their poor record in ICC events by going down without a fight, collapsing pathetically against India after a decent start.

The match was described by South Africa captain AB De Villiers as their “worst day” of the season. Sri Lanka succumbed to Pakistan, the loss was attributed to “pathetic fielding” by an unhappy captain Angelo Mathews.

Not just with teams, experts and fans were wrong about players too. The Aussies had a quiet Champions Trophy and De Villiers (the 360 degree megastar) hardly made a run in the tournament.

Ben Stokes scored a punishing hundred to power England to a comprehensive win over Australia but when it mattered the most his form ran out. Against Pakistan, he was surprisingly scratchy – he failed to find the boundary even once in 64 balls; his bowling too was less than ordinary. None for 38 from 3.1 overs.
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But all this pales in comparison to Pakistan's extraordinary journey this Champions Trophy. Against India, they looked no better than a club side that had inadvertently strayed into a senior competition. Past legends Imran Khan and Javed Miandad wasted no time to pull the trigger, both blasted the side. And the Pakistan Cricket Board was so miffed that they ordered an enquiry to find reasons for the dismal performance.

Written off as a team that could not bat or field, Pakistan shocked others and perhaps surprised themselves. Bowling was their strong suit but the astonishing win over England was achieved without Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz – their two best bowlers. Pakistan was dismissed as a team that couldn’t bat but they surmounted England’s 211 without being challenged.
It was supposed to be a high scoring tournament but proving everyone wrong, bowlers have won key matches.
Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez, right, celebrate victory as they leave the pitch after they won the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal cricket match between England and Pakistan. (Photo: AP)
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The Champions Trophy was supposed to be a high scoring cricket carnival dominated by batsmen. As it turns out, proving everyone wrong, bowlers have won key matches by preventing scores of 300 plus.

With so many surprises and unexpected results, what next? Will form, reputation and track record assert itself? Or, is there one final deadly twist left in the Champions Trophy?

(Amrit Mathur is a senior journalist, former GM of the BCCI and Manager of the Indian Cricket Team. He can be reached at @AmritMathur1)

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Topics:  India   Cricket   Bangladesh 

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