With the Champions Trophy done and dusted for some time now, and bilateral series between teams having started again, the countdown to the 2019 World Cup has begun. All the teams will now try to address their areas of weakness and build their teams for the big event.
This is not a bad time, therefore, to look back at the Champions Trophy and point out some key takeaway points which will be important for us going forward. What were the trends witnessed, lessons learnt?
Here are five early lessons for the 2019 World Cup.
#1 Openers remain absolutely crucial
The importance of good openers in limited overs cricket has been well understood for some time now. If anything else, the just-concluded Champions Trophy all but re-asserted the importance of having good, stable openers at the top of the order.
A quick look at statistics for the tournament will reveal that the success of teams that went the distance depended heavily on their openers. If India had Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, Pakistan had Fakhar Zaman while Bangladesh relied on Tamim Iqbal up front.
Interestingly, the openers provided contrasting styles as Dhawan and Sharma relied more on building the innings to set up a platform, while Iqbal and Zaman were ruthless up front, trying to utilise the powerplay overs.
The key to big totals in the Champions Trophy was very often a good opening partnership which set up the game beautifully for the batting team. Looking forward at the 2019 World Cup, the importance of good openers who can give the team fast, solid starts can never be underestimated.
#2 Pakistani bowlers are feared again
Whenever one talks of that dreaded era of Pakistani fast bowlers, one remembers the names of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, or later Shoaib Akhtar. But one may be forgiven for thinking that such an era has long been over and the current crop of bowler Pakistan produces are toothless at best.
The Champions Trophy has firmly put such misconceptions at rest as the Pakistani quicks have been in flying form and breathing fire in this tournament. Mohammad Amir is back to his best and his spell against India in the final was one of the best.
Junaid Khan did more than a decent job while Hasan Ali, the highest wicket-taker of the tournament turned matches in their favour by picking wickets in the middle overs.
Two of the biggest tournament favourites going into the dying stages of the Champions Trophy, England and India, were knocked out by Pakistan’s fiery fast bowling. Looking ahead, the Pakistan pace battery will be something to contend with for the oppositions in the next World Cup.
#3 Bangladesh are no longer pushovers
In the last few years, Bangladesh has progressed in leaps and bounds under the guidance of their coach Chandika Hathurusingha. Their success on home soil in consecutive series last year was noted by one and all. The big question mark, however, was whether they would be able to replicate that success on foreign soil.
The Champions Trophy answered all these questions as Bangladesh put in splendid performances to advance to the semi-finals of an ICC event for the first time. The team also has a good mixture of youth and experience with prodigious talents like Soumya Sarkar and Mustafizur Rahman coming through while they are able to bank on the wealth experience of Shakib Al Hasan, Musfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal to guide them.
Bangladesh did not let their passionate fans down as they played some spirited cricket en route to their semi-final with their high point coming in the form of twin centuries from Shakib and Musfiqur in a successful run chase in their virtual quarter-final against New Zealand.
As they continue to go from strength to strength, Bangladesh will truly be a force to contend with for the 2017 World Cup.
#4 Middle overs are crucial now more than ever
As T20 cricket gained rapid popularity, there were doubts over whether ODI cricket will survive as far as its popularity is concerned. Though such doubts have been put to rest as T20 cricket has in its own way changed the way players approach ODIs now.
One such change is how batsmen try to consolidate in the beginning and in the middle overs to reach a comfortable stage with wickets in hand. This gives them the license to go berserk during the last 10-15 overs where they back themselves to score big because of the effect produced by T20 cricket.
The Champions Trophy saw a few radical collapses during the middle overs as South Africa lost their last eight wickets for 51 runs against India, slipping from 140 for 2 to being bowled out for 191 and England slumped from 128 for 2 to all out for 211 against Pakistan in the semi-final.
Teams that consolidated their position in the middle overs did well eventually while bowling teams would often pick crucial wickets to peg the batsmen back. This is where bowlers like Hasan Ali, who bowled during the middle overs and consistently picked wickets, were so crucial.
The middle overs from on are therefore going to be of extreme importance. The bowling team will need to stem the flow of runs and pick wickets during this phase failing which they will be hurt badly at the death.
#5 Chasing is now preferred but not perfected
The Champions Trophy re-emphasized a growing trend which we have been witnessing in cricket for the last few years now — most teams now fancy chasing even in big games. Win the toss and put the opposition into bat seems to be the order of the day now.
With the game having swung decisively in favour of batsmen, no total is now big enough and captains prefer to have a set target in their mind now. If it’s a day/night match and the possibility of dew, chasing is preferred without a question.
But the Champions Trophy showed that though chasing is now the preferred option, it is an art still to be perfected. There were some fantastic chases were big totals were overhauled — England chased down Bangladesh’s 305 in the opening match, Sri Lanka chased down 321 against India.
But there were four occasions when good teams faltered while chasing and capitulated under pressure. This obviously includes the final where India, despite having great chasers like Virat Kohli, succumbed to pressure and could not put up a fight thanks to a big total on the board.
Going forward, chasing will continue to be the most favoured option from now on. But teams must remember that it is a difficult art to master and the bowling team will always have a great chance as they have the runs on the board to play with.
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