Kolkata: One of the most awaited and highly anticipated cricketing tournaments of this year- the Champions Trophy has already given us some memorable performances to cherish as the league stages have come to an end leaving behind four teams- hosts England, defending champions India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, who have fought all odds to make it to the next stage in the eight-team competition.
But wait, aren’t you all a bit surprised with the last two names in the list?
India and England’s qualification to the semis was quite expected considering the fact that they were touted as the, ‘favourites’ from the very beginning of the tournament. But out of all the other top teams like South Africa, World Champions Australia and the resilient New Zealand, Pakistan and Bangladesh have unexpectedly made it to the knockout stages of the, ‘mini World Cup.’
The credit of course lies with them and, taking absolutely nothing away from their performance, both these teams have done considerably well given the fact that there were so many competitors in line. But what it reflects on an overall basis is what the tournament has been so far- a one of upsets.
It all began from the Pakistan-South Africa Group B game on the 7th of June. A few days before that, Pakistan was thoroughly routed by India in a humiliating 124-run defeat while the Proteas were riding high on momentum after they brushed aside Sri Lanka by 96 runs in their first game. Also, South Africa led by AB De Villiers was the number one ranked ODI team coming into the game, while Pakistan was way below
at the eighth position.
But what transpired in the field left many in shock and surprise. Pakistan bowled first and they were absolutely phenomenal in the field as they restricted the batting heavy Proteas side to just 219 runs. Also, AB De Villiers was handed his first golden duck of his career. The batsmen then came out to win the game by 19 runs, via DLS method.
This match set it up for the rest of the teams to follow. Sri Lanka, the, ‘underdogs’ in the competition went on to stun the defending champions India, by seven wickets chasing a steep total of 322 and doing so in style with eight balls to spare.
If this wasn’t it, then the New Zealand vs Bangladesh game would surely make you believe that this indeed has been a tournament of upsets.
Chasing 266, the Kiwis had left the Bangladeshis tottering at 33/4 at one stage but Shakib Al-Hasan and Mahmadullah joined together at the crease to script history as they registered a stunning 224 run partnership that knocked the World cup finalists out of the Champions Trophy and also helped Bangladesh make it to the semis, after England beat Australia, the next day.
Despite rains playing a spoilsport in a lot of games, these upsets have nonetheless instilled a sense of, ‘thrill’ in the competition and have proven that any team can beat the other, on any given day. Thereby, don’t go by the statistics or the team’s strength on paper anymore as this is a season of upsets and well, anything can happen in cricket, which is a highly unpredictable sport.
Now, the stage is all set for some intense action to begin as places in the final are at stake. On one hand, it’s England vs Pakistan in the first semi-final and on the other, it’s India vs Bangladesh in the second. More upsets on cards?