Champions Trophy 2017: 5 reasons why South Africa can win the trophy
The eighth edition of the Champions Trophy is set to entertain cricket fans across the globe. For the second time in a row, England will be hosting the mega event and the conditions are expected to favour the batsmen, with lots of runs likely to be scored in the next few weeks.
While all 8-teams participating in the event have their own prowess to showcase, there are a few which enjoy an upper hand. One of those is South Africa. The Proteas are always instilled as one of the tournament favourites and look confident during the early stages of any ICC event, only to stumble in pressure knock-out matches.
But if the ‘chokers’ harbour any hope of silencing their critics, then this is the time to do it. This may be Ab de Villiers last attempt to win his country an ICC trophy, and he will be very desperate to do so.
South Africa have recently completed a three-match series against England, having lost the first two matches before storming back to win the final match by seven wickets.
Ab de Villiers’ trophy hunger along with their recent records, make South Africa a force to reckon with this Champions Trophy 2017. The Proteas have tasted success once in this tournament when they won the first edition way back in 1998.
It has been 19 years since then are they are yet to win another ICC trophy. Here are 5 reasons why they can finally untag themselves as ‘chokers’ and end their silverware drought.
#1 Their recent ODI form has been outstanding
Speaking of South Africa’s recent record in limited overs cricket the past year, it has been nothing short of incredible. After whitewashing Australia in a 5-match ODI series in their own backyard, they whitewashed Sri Lanka too, at home. De Villiers then led South Africa to a 3-2 win against New Zealand away from home earlier in the year.
South Africa have won four straight series since September 2015. They have won 15 of their last 20 matches coming into the tournament, which means a real sense of optimism surrounds the Proteas.