#TFGtake: Kudos to Pakistan, but we could have done without the 2017 Champions Trophy
BEFORE WE get into analysing how boring the recently concluded Champions Trophy in England turned out to be, it would only be fair to congratulate our neighbours Pakistan for their incredible win at the Oval yesterday.
Once again, they proved to the world how unpredictable they can be on the cricket field and made a mockery of the ICC rankings. However, despite all the emotions of a famous Pakistan win, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to state that the 8th edition of the Champions Trophy was nothing short of boring. In fact, it was arguably the worst edition ever!
Here, we look at the reasons how the 2017 edition failed to live up to its billing.
Rain marred games
Although the semis and finals didn't see any interruption from the weather gods, majority of the games in the group stages were marred due to rain. While we understand that the weather remains unpredictable in the early English summer, we wonder if the ICC could have done a better job with scheduling of matches. For eg: considering that travel time isn't a lot in the UK, other venues in Machester, Leeds or Southampton could have been kept as standby venues.
Australia's unceremonious exit
The two-time champions who came into the tournament as one of the title contenders found themselves exiting the tournament prematurely due to external factors. Once again, rain played havoc in their group stage matches. While some might argue on how Australia would have lost to New Zealand at Edgbaston, they were robbed of an easy win against Bangladesh at the Oval. In fact, they were in danger of exiting the tournament without even completing a single game. Unfortunately, the only game they finished was against the hosts and they were outclassed by England. In the end, Steven Smith's were shown the door as Bangladesh despite being thrashed by Australia and England entered the semis.
Flat wickets
Surprisingly all the wickets in the Champions Trophy were flat. From Oval, Cardiff to Edgbaston, the conditions were ideal for the batsmen to make merry. While we understand Asian or wickets in the Caribbean being flat, but despite the gloomy conditions and heavy weather, the seamers had little assistance. Looking back, there were hardly any probing spells of bowling. Simply put, there was no contest between both bat and ball. The fact that teams fancied chasing big totals was a testimony to the batting-friendly conditions in the 2017 edition.
Not a single close game
Given the fact that the top-8 teams qualified for the event, one expected several nail-biting thrillers. However, the tournament couldn't deliver even a single close game. From game one, we were forced to see only one-sided contests. Sure the rain during the initial stages didn't help. Who knows what might have happened in the game between South Africa and Pakistan or even Australia and New Zealand? But perhaps, the biggest disappointment was the fact that the semis and finals too failed to deliver a contest. Considering all eight teams were capable of beating each other, it was shocking to see the quality of cricket.
Going ahead, we are not sure what the future holds for the Champions Trophy. But perhaps, the biggest positive to come out of this beleaguered event was Pakistan's rise to stardom from the brink of ignominy. Given the unrest in their country and boycott of international cricket in that part of the world, it was quite a spectacle to see Pakistan have the last laugh.
Besides Pakistan's improbable triumph, we are struggling to highlight any other spectacular moment from the eighth edition.
Get the latest in the world of Sports, Teams, and Players! Free Delivery to your Inbox.
