The Champions Trophy came to an end on Sunday with India beating New Zealand in a closely contested final.
The Champions Trophy came to an end on Sunday with India beating New Zealand in a closely contested final. The furor surrounding India’s ability to stack the deck in their favor by being permanently based in Dubai will rage on, but the reality is in a few years, the only thing that will be remembered will be who won the tournament. The shame of the situation is that India was almost certainly good enough to win it playing in Pakistan.
But, moving on from the controversy of Dubai versus Pakistan as tournament venues. Let’s take a moment to pick our team for the tournament. Not surprisingly it is dominated by players from India (4) and New Zealand (5). But there is also space for representation from a couple of other nations. Here’s our list of top performers:
1. Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand)
The leading run scorer of the tournament, Ravindra averaged 65.75 from his four innings. He missed one game due to injury, but once he was back in the mix, he looked imperious scoring centuries against both Bangladesh and South Africa. he got the Black Caps off to a brisk start in the final as well with 37 runs from 29 balls before he was bowled by Kuldeep Yadav. As much as he is in the team for his batting, Ravindra is also a more than useful bowler with his left-arm orthodox fare. He finished the tournament with three wickets to show his all-round value.
2. Ben Duckett (England)
England had a horribly underwhelming tournament and there will undoubtedly be plenty of soul-searching for them once they return home. Duckett got England’s tournament off to an outstanding start as he smashed an outstanding 165 against Australia to lead them to a seemingly unbeatable score of 351. But it wasn’t to be as Australia chased it down. Regardless, Duckett finished the tournament as its third-highest scorer, he averaged 75.66 at a strike rate of 108.61.
3. Virat Kohli (India)
He came into the tournament with some question marks over his form and his hunger. But Kohli is nothing, if not a man for the big occasion and he duly rose to the expectations as he finished as the tournament’s fifth highest scorer with an average of 54.50. His undefeated 100 against Pakistan showed his quality under pressure while he also managed a fighting 84 in the semi-final against Australia.
4. Shreyas Iyer (India)
Ranked as the eighth-best ODI batsman in the world, Shreyas is only the fourth-highest-ranked of India’s batters. Despite this, he was their highest scorer at the tournament with a solid 243 runs at an average of 48.60. He never reached three figures, but he passed 50 twice and was twice out in the 40s. Each time he batted he made runs which is a key trait for somebody batting at four in an ODI line-up. His fielding could do with a bit of an improvement!
5. Tom Latham (New Zealand)
Our choice as wicketkeeper, Latham had a big tournament. He finished as the tournament’s seventh-highest scorer with 205 runs at an average of 51.25. There is plenty of competition for his spot with the likes of Heinrich Klaasen, KL Rahul, and Alex Carey all potential to fill the place. But Latham was the best performer of the lot. Aside from his contributions with the bat he finished with three catches and a stumping delivering a tidy performance behind the stumps.
6. David Miller (South Africa)
South Africa’s incredible finisher was left with too much to do in the semi-final defeat against New Zealand. Despite that, he smashed a wonderful century as he finished the tournament with an average of 121 (he was out just once) and a strike-rate of 139.08. The number six spot could have gone to several contenders, but Miller’s strike rate, which was the second highest in the tournament (behind Glenn Maxwell, who only made 39 runs) gets him the nod.
7. Michael Bracewell (New Zealand)
A key player for New Zealand with both the bat and ball, Bracewell finished the tournament with a batting average of 41 and a strike rate of 118.84. With the ball he was also in great form, finishing as the fifth-best bowler overall. He claimed eight wickets with his off breaks with an excellent economy rate of 4.10 and an average of 25.12.
8. Wiaan Mulder (South Africa)
The South African all-rounder goes quietly about his business with a minimum of fuss. It’s no surprise that IPL outfit the Sunrisers Hyderabad have drafted Mulder in as a late replacement. Mulder had a good Champions Trophy and makes our team as a bowling all-rounder. He took six wickets at an average of 18.16 – the second-best average in the list of top ten bowlers behind spin wizard Varun Chakravarthy. he didn’t get much chance with the bat, facing just 19 balls all tournament. That didn’t stop him from caning a few as he ended with a batting strike rate of 105.26 and an average of 20.
9. Mohammed Shami (India)
Back to his best after a long period of injury, Shami took nine wickets at an average of 25.88. Good at the top of the innings and at the death, Shami did very well considering he played the entire tournament on a spin-friendly wicket that didn’t really play to his strengths.
10. Matt Henry (New Zealand)
The tournament’s leading wicket-taker with ten, Henry’s absence from the final was a key reason for New Zealand’s failure to beat India. In all, Henry played four games, returned best figures of five for 42 and averaged 16.70. He was a menace with the new ball showing huge composure and temperament as the tournament reached its business end.
11. Varun Chakravarthy (India)
Varun wasn’t in the starting eleven for India when the tournament began, but he finished as a key player and their leading wicket-taker. With nine scalps from three games, Varun stamped his authority on the tournament with his incredible variations and nothing-to-lose approach. Averaging 15.11 with an economy rate of 4.53, Varun finished with a strike rate of 20 – the fourth best of the tournament.
12. Glenn Phillips (New Zealand)
The South African-born dynamo is an outstanding fielder, and he held some incredible catches throughout the tournament. He also clubbed some useful runs and returned handy figures with the ball. He is a little bit of everything, but above all, he is a bundle of energy and the perfect player to fill the role of drinks carrier in our all-star eleven.
