Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke has predicted India and England to be the last two sides standing in the race for the Champions Trophy. “No doubt India is playing some great cricket at the moment. I had predicted an India vs Australia final. But now that Australia are out, England is a contender for the trophy too. They deserve to be in final. For me, I reckon, it will be an India vs England final," said the 36-year-old. Australia couldn’t close out their knock-out game against England in the group stage, leading to Bangladesh making it to the semi-final in their first ever appearance in the Champions Trophy. Clarke was full of praise for Virat Kohli, following India’s thumping victory against South Africa and consequent qualification for the semi-final. India will play Bangladesh in the semi-final while England will square-off against Pakistan. "Virat is a fantastic captain. He competes hard and the way one leads the side is a reflection of one's personality. He has been tactically brilliant in this tournament so far," he concluded.
11:51 (IST)13 JUN 2017
Graeme Smith says it hurt him to see such an unrecognisable South African performance
Former South African skipper Graeme Smith expressed his stark disappointment over South Africa’s loss against India in a knock-out game of the ICC Champions Trophy. Writing for his column in ICC’s official website, Smith said: “I feel disappointed that the team haven’t managed to recreate the form and the brand of cricket that have seen them be so successful in white ball cricket over the past 12-18 months. I still care deeply about the environment that I spent so much time building as a player, and it hurt to see such an unrecognisable South Africa performance.” He further added that the positivity and energy that is expected from a team of South Africa’s stature was just not there in the games that AB de Villiers’ men played in the tournament. “This display is the perfect example of that. With the bat, there was a real chance to make an impression on the game early, by looking to, at least, try and put the India seamers under pressure. That didn’t happen, and this cautious style of play that seems to lack the intent that we’ve seen from the same players previously, is what puzzles me the most,” he added. South Africa were touted to be one of the favourites for the tournament but couldn’t make it past the group stage. Their match against India was a virtual quarter-final, where they succumbed to a 8-run defeat at the hands of Virat Kohli’s men.
Reminiscing on Sri Lanka’s loss to Pakistan in a knock-out match of the ICC Champions trophy, Angelo Mathews said that the fielding let his team down at crucial moments in the encounter. “We were pathetic once again. It would’ve been a very diff story if had held on to the catches. We missed them in crucial times like in the first over and again, we let go of Sarfraz (Ahmed) in the last stage of the match. Today was not our day,” he said. However, the Sri Lankan captain was quick to appreciate the effort put forward by his men and said that all his teammates have worked extremely hard over the season. “There was been a genuine effort from the boys. We have put all our energy in fielding (practice). It was a funny wicket today. We were 30-40 runs short, but I’m proud of the way we tried to defend the total. Even though we only had 236 to defend, the boys gave it their all. Unfortunately, we missed a few chances. In a big tournament like this, they fought hard an inexperienced team. I'm proud of them,” he concluded. Sri Lanka are now knocked out of the tournament while Pakistan will go on to play England for the spot in the final. The second semi-final will be played between India and Bangladesh.
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Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke has predicted India and England to be the last two sides standing in the race for the Champions Trophy.
“No doubt India is playing some great cricket at the moment. I had predicted an India vs Australia final. But now that Australia are out, England is a contender for the trophy too. They deserve to be in final. For me, I reckon, it will be an India vs England final," said the 36-year-old.
Australia couldn’t close out their knock-out game against England in the group stage, leading to Bangladesh making it to the semi-final in their first ever appearance in the Champions Trophy.
Clarke was full of praise for Virat Kohli, following India’s thumping victory against South Africa and consequent qualification for the semi-final. India will play Bangladesh in the semi-final while England will square-off against Pakistan.
"Virat is a fantastic captain. He competes hard and the way one leads the side is a reflection of one's personality. He has been tactically brilliant in this tournament so far," he concluded.